For Want of a Boyfriend
by XanAxe14
Summary: High School AU: Roman Reigns meets Addison Hart, a bullied autistic girl who seems to have lost a lot in her life. Now he wants to prove that regardless of his size he would never hurt her, bringing her into safety with the rest of The Shield. Can he prove to Addison she can trust them or lose her trust in the end? Roman/Oc with other couples.
1. Chapter 1

**For Want of a Boyfriend**

**Chapter 1**

"Addison Hart," her homeroom teacher said during attendance roll call.

She ducked her head and offered up a squeaky, "here," before turning back to the book that the class was discussing. Mr. Calderon didn't bat an eye when the snickering started up in the back of the classroom, but Addison slipped further down in her seat.

Carmella Dale, one of the blondest and hottest girls in school, tossed a crumpled up piece of paper at Addison's head. It bounced off and the entire last three rows of students snickered all together.

"All right, everyone better settle down." Mr. Calderon said, but of course, no one really paid any attention. Especially not when three large guys came and stood in the doorway to the classroom. "You're late."

"Yeah, this place is huge." The sandy blond guy said. He was wearing a black leather jacket, which there in the Florida heat wasn't something that others often did.

"And the parking lot was full." The dark haired one with a hoodie said.

Addison spied the new guys, the three guys that were bigger than a lot of anyone, except for Dwayne Johnson, the actor her Uncle Bret knew. Dwayne, when she had met him last, was really big, so big that she sort of hid behind her uncle because of that. But as she was in class, she had nowhere to hide.

"So what are your names again?" Mr. Calderon looked at his student list.

"Seth Rollins," said the guy with brown hair but a chunk of it was dyed blond. He was the one wearing the hoodie.

"Dean Ambrose," said the leather jacket guy.

"Roman Reigns," the muscular one with the long hair and facial hair said. He had the deepest voice Addison had ever heard, which made her skin tingle.

"Dude, it's The Shield." One guy from the far left side of the room mumbled.

She realized that the majority of the class had stopped talking. The girl sitting next to Addison's left side, Alexa Bliss, was openly staring at the three guys that still stood at the doorway to the classroom.

"All right, just go find a place to sit." Her teacher instructed.

It just so happened that the seat in front of her was empty, the one directly behind her was empty and the one to Addison's right was where these three guys sat down. Dean behind, Seth in front and Roman on her right, all with their backpacks sitting on the floor. As Mr. Calderon finished the roll call, he brought up the upcoming exam for his English class.

Addison scooted further into her seat, especially when Seth kept looking back at her, or so she thought.

"Hi," Alexa said in a hushed whisper when Seth looked back again.

Picking up her pen, Addison tried to follow what Mr. Calderon was talking about. They had to write a persuasive essay, about three pages long on an issue of their choosing. The one thing that had Addison's heart plummeting was that they were going to be working in groups, but each individual would have a topic of their own.

"Do you need me to explain it again, Addison?" Calderon asked in front of the class.

She only shook her head and ducked it further at the snickering going on in the back of the class. Her face began to heat up, her eyes started pooling tears at the edges. She had a hard time breathing...

"Can we choose our groups, Mr. Calderon? Because if we can, I would love to help these new guys out." Alexa said in a strange tone that Addison didn't understand.

"I was going to get to that, Alexa. Yes, you can choose your groups. I'll give everyone about five minutes and to sit next to each other."

Addison didn't move, she didn't even look up.

"Hey," Seth turned in his seat again. "Aren't you Bret Hart's niece?"

"Dude, Hart's your uncle?" Dean asked from behind Addison. "That makes you Canadian, right?"

Addison didn't know how to voice it, not when both of them were looking at her. She ended up just shaking her head instead. No, she wasn't from Canada, not like her cousin had been. Her father was Canadian but her mother was American.

"Anyway, what did you guys want to..." Alexa tried to steer the conversation.

"Let's group up. Us three and you, Addison." Seth said. "You guys cool with that?" He looked at his two friends.

"Yeah, I'm cool with it since she's Bret's niece," Dean said from behind her.

"Sure," Roman said, and again his voice did weird things to her skin.

"Alexa, come on. We still need someone." Carmella called from her spot with James Ellsworth, her plaything as she called him.

Alexa huffed, picked up her stuff and headed to the back of the room. Dean got up and sat in Alexa's vacated seat. He wiggled his fingers at Addison as she looked over at him.

"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Roman asked.

She shrugged. "Not much." She cringed at the way her voice barely came out as a whisper again.

"You and your friends hang out somewhere cool?" Dean asked.

She shook her head, the grip on her pen tightened. "My cousin, Natalya Hart, moved back to Canada for her senior year. It's just me now."

"Oh, sorry to hear about that," Seth said. "What topics did you write down?" He tried to reach for her notebook but she shut it closed before he had a chance. "That's your diary huh?"

She shrugged. Addison grabbed the notebook with both hands and pulled it to her.

"Job loss, machinations taking over human jobs, history of safety in the workplace due to machinery was my topic." She said as she thought about the documentary she had seen the night before.

"Robots are cool. I heard they started making serving bots in Japan." Dean said. "I'll do that shit."

"Language." Mr. Calderon said from nearby.

He waved his hand at the teacher. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. What about you, Roman?" Dean asked the quiet guy.

"Tesla, they've been having some problems with the newest model or something. My cousin Dwayne Johnson, you know the movie star, recently got one and he's had problems."

"So we're all for robotics and machinery. I think I'll to the job aspect." Seth said. "Great, we have our topic, Mr. Calderon."

Addison took a deep breath and pressed her head into her arms. Class couldn't get over fast enough at this point.

* * *

Roman kept looking over at the girl in their English class. Dean, on the other hand, was making no display of being bored. Seth wasn't able to watch so Roman did it for him.

Addison Hart, he knew, was autistic. At least that's what the news reports said. Her mother and father were recently killed, she was living with her grandmother. Bret Hart, an actor and producer friend of Roman's cousin Dwayne Johnson, was her uncle who started the Hart Foundation, a program for support of children of whom lost parents to murder.

She was small, like that Alexa Bliss chick. She had darker blond hair and a round face. Addison Hart was quiet, she never looked at any of them for long. She kept trying to disappear, but he could see her no matter what.

By the end of class, she had been resting her face against the top of the desk for a majority of it, unless it was to write something down in that beat up notebook of hers. Anyone who knew the Hart family would know about Addison, her family worked with kids on the autism spectrum, they loved her. But it didn't seem like that at school. From the looks he saw from some of the girls, they were not happy with her.

A crumpled up piece of paper bounced off the top of Addison's head, and she didn't move. It rolled to a stop next to Roman's boot and he turned around to look. The chick, Carmella, waved and smiled before pointing to Addison. Give her the note, he made out what her lips were saying.

Instead, he opened the crumpled up piece of paper.

There was one word scribbled on the piece of paper.

_Retard_

He looked at the chick, and then he slowly crumpled the piece of paper in his hand. Her smile fell away faster than the tide ever did.

The bell rung a few minutes later. As everyone started to get their things together to leave for their next classes, Roman took out his schedule.

"Damn it, algebra." He said. "Do you know where room 9 is?" Roman asked Addison.

She nodded. "It's next to the Special Ed class."

"Could you show me? Or are you heading in another direction?"

"I can take you." Alexa tried again to interject herself into the group. "I know every nook and cranny of this school." She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

Addison picked up her things and started for the door, her head lowered as she stared at the floor. Grabbing his stuff, Roman said bye to Dean and Seth before following after Addison. He caught the back of her shirt, at which point she spun around and hit him with a weak swat to the chest. Her things had clattered to the floor as she was staring at him with an open mouth. It wasn't just her, the other students who had seen what happened did as well. Roman ignored them.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get your attention." He leaned down and picked up her stuff, that battered notebook laying out open.

_My Goals:_

_1\. Get a boyfriend._

_2\. Share a kiss with him._

Blinking, and trying not to smile like an asshole, he held her stuff out to her. "So you said you could take me to Room 9?"

"I, I don't remember saying that." She grabbed her stuff and hugged them to her chest. "Alexa did."

"Could you take me there? I just moved from Pensacola with my folks, I don't know anything about Wellspring."

"It was once thought to be the source of the Fountain of Youth due to the long gone springs that the town was named after." She said, as if reading it straight from a book. She probably did somewhere.

She turned around and started walking. So, Roman followed her. Not that he didn't mind following her backside. She had a nice body, from what he last heard at one point she was on the track team even if she was so short.

The school was a two-level large brick building, but they walked from the upper floor to the bottom, where the main office was where he and his friends checked in for their first day of school. Addison seemed to go with the flow, moved through it like she was just another fish. She hung close to the wall, never straying too far into the middle of the hall. She never once looked back at him.

She stopped so suddenly that he ran into her. Roman put a hand on her shoulder as she turned to look at him. She was red in the face, a sad look pulled at her pouty lips.

"Sorry." He said. "I didn't know you would put the breaks on so suddenly."

"That's Room 9, that's the Special Ed class. That's my study hall." She said before turning around and heading for the door.

"Thanks, Addison." He called out, which she looked at him before going into the Special Ed room.

He didn't see Addison until lunch. He, Dean and Seth all had the same lunch together. As they were getting their trays of food he saw her walk into the cafeteria.

She stood in line a few people behind him.

"She's here, isn't she?" Seth asked. "From the look on your face, yeah she is."

"What's your big thing with her, man?" Dean asked.

"She's cute." Roman shrugged. "Besides, I met her once."

"Wait, what? And you're just now telling us this big piece of news?" Seth spun around to look at him.

"It was about a year ago, I was hanging out with Dwayne when Bret came by to the movie set we were on to visit. Addison was with Bret, sort of a personal assistant or something. We got to talk for a few minutes. She liked cross country, comic books and history."

"You suck at History." Dean pointed out. "Just like algebra. And science, and English."

"Okay, okay, I get it. I suck at school. I'm going into the NFL anyway, who needs to know anything about Of Rats and Men."

"It's Of Mice and Men, idiot," Seth said as he shook his head.

They were up for their food. The school was on a health kick, there was even a salad bar that a lot of the girls were hanging out at. Instead, Roman, Seth and Dean chose pizza and tots.

"God, I'm starving," Dean said as they found an empty table at the far end of the large cafeteria.

"Didn't you eat anything this morning? I had enough to eat." Seth said.

"I got up late."

Roman turned around and looked for Addison. She stood with a tray of food looking around. There were kids talking loud, people laughing and stuff like that. But she looked to be lost, searching for something.

"Go ask her to sit with us," Seth said. "Or should I? I heard people talking about you and her after Homeroom."

"I'll do it." Leaving his tray behind, Roman got up.

As he got to Addison, a bright blond hair guy was talking to her. And not in a nice way either.

"You could always eat out by the dumpster. I heard that's where they found your mom." Roman heard the guy say.

"Hey!" Addison almost dropped her tray when he yelled. "Come on, Addison, you're sitting with the rest of The Shield."

He gave the asshole a pointed glared before taking Addison's tray and then guided her towards the table. All too well aware of the looks from the other students, Roman kept a hold on the tray and a hand on her back, though making sure not to touch her where his mother had warned him to stay away from on a girl.

"Hey, Addy." Dean greeted her as they got to the table. "From now on just sit with us."

"I once had to stand in the hall to eat my lunch back when I was living in Iowa," Seth said.

"Don't go starting in on that cold weather bullshit," Roman said as he and Addison sat down. "I'm glad I'm from Florida."

Addison didn't talk, per as expected. She had a piece of pizza, but she didn't touch her tater tots. She'd finished her milk long before Roman did. Of course, Seth was filling her in on their back story.

"We're football players. And basketball players, in Dean's case." Seth said. "The sports down here were a lot better than up where we're from. Dean and I are living with my folks." Seth said. "Momma's boy here is the youngest in his family." Seth thumped Roman in the shoulder.

"Why did you call you three The Shield?" Addison asked as she glanced at Roman.

"Cause we fight for justice. This isn't the first school where we've dolled out justice to assholes who needed it." Dean said as he leaned forward on his elbows.

"You beat people up?" She asked with squeaky tone.

"Only those who mess with a certain special group of people." He retorted quickly.

"Bullies get their asses handed to them if they bother someone who didn't start shit," Roman said.

"I don't know what you mean by a special group of people." She said as she rocked forward and back in her seat while staring at her tray.

"Special ed kids, the ones that can't help who they are and what they go through."

"We sort of got kicked out of the last school after the punk there nearly bullied a kid to death. We beat him down and then we got thrown out. Wellsprings was the next logical bet." Seth said.

"Only because they were the only ones that wanted us," Dean added.

He wanted to lean over and push that lock of hair that was blocking his view of her face. Roman knew better than to touch her without being told so. Of course, Dean was making kissy faces at him while Seth rolled his eyes. Roman scratched his head with his middle finger.

"Do you take the bus home?" Roman asked Addison.

She nodded. She pushed her tray away as she sat relatively still, save for the rocking of her upper body.

"We carpool every day. How about we take you home?" Seth said. "I have a Mercedes that we can all fit into."

She shook her head. "No. I have to get home or my grandma gets mad."

Addison pulled her notebook out of her bag. She pushed her partially eaten tray back and started writing something. It was something really quick and then she closed it back up again.

"Hey, Addy, is there somewhere in Wellspring that we could possibly go to do something?" Dean asked. "Movies or something? This place is too small, Pensacola was a hell of a lot better for entertainment."

She shook her head as she put her notebook back into her backpack.

"The town is small. There isn't even a comic book store in sight." Seth said.

"Yes, there is." She looked up. "Gallagher Street has a comic book store. I go there every weekend. It's called Must Love Comics."

It was the first time she seemed to have a life about her.

"Are you an Avenger's fan?" Seth asked.

She nodded and reached for her backpack again. Instead of a notebook, she brought out a comic. It was the newest issue of Avengers that Seth had been wanting to get but since the move that all of them had, he hadn't the chance.

"Here." She held it out to him. "You can borrow it."

"Cool, thanks. I'll give it back by homeroom tomorrow. Where is Must Love Comics? Can you give me the address?" Seth asked.

She did, she handed him a business card.

"I work there." She looked down when Seth stared at her. "I stock the shelves, I make sure that the various boxes have the right comics in it, I don't like people mixing DC with Marvel comics because they can't tell the difference between Deadpool and Deadshot."

"God, I hate that, too," Seth said as he put the comic and the card in his own backpack. "Thanks, Addison."

She nodded.

"Hey, aren't you going to try out for the football team?" Dean changed the conversation to Roman. "I'm going to talk to the coach about the Wellspring Basketball team. Is this school any good with sports?"

Addison shrugged. "I don't know, I don't go to any. Too many people."

She went silent again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Addison sat in her History class staring at the history textbook. She wasn't really reading it because Roman was sitting behind her in the second row next to the window. Mr. Michaels was talking about the Revolutionary War, which was the section they were covering but she just couldn't pay attention to.

Even though Roman never spoke to her, any time he answered a question from Mr. Michaels, her skin tingled. It was like the time her dad took a feather and danced it across her skin to show her what goosebumps or goose flesh was. She didn't understand why a guy's voice could do that to her skin.

As the final bell of the day rang, the other students got up and got their things together to go. Addison did the same, though not to get caught in the rush of people.

"Hey, Addison," again the tingles flared up. "I'm going to go talk to coach Austin about football. Did you want to come with me?"

She looked behind him, only because Carmella was watching on. Charlotte and Naomi were talking amongst themselves, and the other new student, Renee Young, was watching on as well. Just because some guy was talking to her because they all knew what she was like and what her life was like...

Addison shook her head. "I have to go to the bus." She said as she picked up her things.

"Sure, I understand. I'll see you tomorrow in homeroom then." He said. She took that as a farewell so that she could depart.

Ducking her head, Addison left the room. She held onto her backpack strap for dear life as she entered the hall that led to the stairs. She needed to go out the main entrance doors because of the buses parked out front the U shaped area just outside the main doors.

She didn't get there far enough. Alexa stopped her feet from the front doors of the school.

"Hey, Hart, I want to talk to you," Alexa said as Addison reached the main doors.

"I can't..."

"Well, then you better listen. I don't know who you think you are but you're by no means good enough to be seen with The Shield."

Alexa was as pink in the face as the tips of her hair. Angry? She looked like she ate a lemon, so that must not be a good face.

"Especially Roman. Well, I'm more interested in Seth. But Roman, he's got the NFL to look into. But he won't get there if he's hanging out with someone like you. Sure you'll be seen as the pity friend, after what happened with your folks."

Her eyes thumped. With her pulse racing in her head and Alexa telling her that because of the Montreal Screwjob, Addison wouldn't be good at anything. She wasn't good enough to be seen with the three hottest guys in school...only to be pitied by them.

Addison's throat closed up as she looked around for a teacher. But of course, the usual hall monitor wasn't there to lay down some social justice. She was on her own.

"I'm not hanging out with them." She croaked out. She really did sound like a frog for a moment but coughed soon after.

"Oh sure, like you wouldn't want three hellishly good looking guys huddled around you. You were getting chummy, I heard, during your lunch period."

She'd forgotten about the comic book discussion. Seth still had her copy of the latest Avengers comic book. It was the only thing that she could talk about and not feel like being a nerd or a geek was a bad thing. She had finally found someone who was interested in comics like her.

"I didn't ask them if I could sit with them, Roman brought me to the table. I have to go. My bus."

Alexa grabbed her arm, her nails dug into Addison's flesh hard. "No, you need to get it through your retard brain, no one is ever going to like you. That little list of yours, I've seen it. It's never going to happen. You're just something to make someone else look good about themselves if they ever show you an ounce of pity."

Alexa only let go when a teacher came walking towards them. This gave Addison a chance and made it out the front doors. Only to see her bus drive off.

Never, not ever, was Addison late getting on the bus to go home. She knew her grandmother would be livid if she came home late. There was no public bus system in their little podunk town. Addison didn't even bother going to the office because her grandmother wouldn't hear the phone anyway.

Addison sat on the front steps of the school lamenting her horrible life. If only what happened to her parents hadn't, if only Nattie stayed around one more year then Addison wouldn't have had to deal with the school on her own. She didn't want to think about the three guys that decided to plant themselves into her social stupidness. She would at least have been able to get on the bus in time.

All she wanted was to go home and dive into her normal routine. It had all gotten screwed up because someone didn't like her hanging out with The Shield. She didn't want her grandmother to get mad either, she'd always kept her schedule nice and tidy, so that way her grandmother wouldn't worry about her or the other things she seemed to worry about.

"Addison?" Her skin tingled, it meant that Roman was there. "What's wrong? Why didn't you get on the bus?"

She wiped her eyes. "I missed it."

"Why are you crying? Did something happen to make you miss the bus?"

She managed to nod her head but she remained silent about everything else. He took her elbow and pulled her up to her feet. When Addison was standing, Roman reached down and grabbed her backpack.

"Come on, Seth is waiting in the Mercedes. We'll take you home." Roman put his hand on her lower back and guided her down the front steps of the school.

Seth was standing outside of his Mercedes with Dean, who was talking to the other blond Canadian Addison realized was from her Biology class, Renee Young. She was the lead interviewer for the school newspaper and it looked like she was doing an interview with Dean.

"Hey, what's going on?" Roman asked upon approach.

"Nothing, man. Just talking. This is Renee Young, she's the head of the newspaper." Dean said. "She's sort of new like us."

Renee looked at Addison and sort of smiled. Addison tried to but after what happened she remained quiet. She, instead, started looking at her reflection in the black sporty car's paint.

"Addison missed her bus. Hope you don't..." Roman started to say to Seth.

"No, I don't mind at all. We better get going. Nice meeting you, Renee." Seth said as he went to the driver's door.

"Yeah, same here." She responded before she looked at Dean again and then walked away.

Addison was put in the backseat with Roman. She sat with her backpack at her feet, her shoulder leaning on her door as she watched the town go by.

"So where are you going?" Seth asked her.

"87th Street, near Willow Park." She said, closing her eyes.

"Hey, I live over there. I just moved there with my folks." Roman said.

She didn't respond. The idea that Roman was living close to her home made her skin tingle more and her heart beat faster. That and because of the small space of the car, his knee was bumping into hers periodically.

"Why don't I just drop you guys off at your place, Roman, and you can walk Addison home. My folks told us to get home because they want to take us clothes shopping." Seth said.

"Man, I don't need more clothes," Dean said.

"You have three jeans, you need more than that. Mom hates doing your laundry all the time."

She only had three pairs of jeans herself, more shirts than pants. Addison needed more clothes but she wasn't going to ask her Uncle Bret for more money. He was in charge of the money that was awarded to her, but she didn't want to bother him with all his movie production stuff.

For obvious reasons, Addison didn't object to what Seth had said about dropping her and Roman off at Roman's house.

She looked up as the trees of Willow Park. It was named after all the willow trees that were planted in the park, where there were people who jogged, some of the kids who were on the football team practiced out there but Addison went there if she wanted to escape.

When the car finally stopped, Roman got out first and then walked around to her side of the car and opened the door for her.

* * *

Roman didn't expect Addison to talk after Seth dropped her and him off at his house. She stayed out on the front steps as he went to got tell his mother what was going on. His father would still be at work at the Reigns' Garage, a town over from Wellspring.

"Roman," Patricia Reigns looked at her son. "You actually got home on time."

"Not after today. Coach agreed to get me a place in the tryouts. But a classmate missed her bus and she lives nearby, so I offered to walk her home so she wouldn't have to do it herself."

"That's my good son." Patricia patted Roman on his cheek. "Go, go do a good friend thing."

He left his backpack on the floor in front of the couch and went back out to Addison. She stood staring at the old car in the garage.

"Ready?" He asked her.

"That's a Mustang." She said. "I like the red and black color."

"Thanks, it's my brother's car. He was fixing it before..." Roman couldn't bring himself to tell her what had happened.

"I have to get home. My grandmother will think that something happened to me." She said. "I'm always home at the same time and she doesn't like me being late."

"Yeah. Have you thought more about the group assignment?"

"No. I want to do some research on my topic. That means I have to go to the library, maybe during my study hall tomorrow."

Roman shoved his hands in his pockets. "Want me to take your backpack for you, Addison?"

"I can do it." She visibly gripped the strap tighter over one shoulder.

He sighed, yet with everything going on with her, Roman didn't want to push her. If he pushed her, he may have as well pushed her away.

"Are you going on the football team?" Addison asked.

"Coach Austin is going to give me a chance at the tryouts tomorrow," Roman said. "I think Seth is going to try out. Dean's trying out for the basketball team when the season comes around."

"I don't know much about those sports. I stopped..." yeah, she did stop in midsentence.

"You stopped doing track, didn't you?" Roman asked.

She nodded.

"I can't ask you why because you don't know me well enough. But I know you would have good reasons for quitting."

She made a noise, which made Roman looked at her. Her gaze was fully on the sidewalk, her hands grasping one of her backpack straps. Addison kicked a stone that was in the middle of the sidewalk.

"How did you know that I was on the track team?" She asked.

"You told me."

Addison stopped, so did he. She turned and looked at him. "I told you? When?"

"About a year ago. You were with your uncle on the set that my cousin was filming. You were your uncle's assistant, I think, but I was there because Dwayne Johnson is my cousin."

"Oh," she turned back to watching the ground as they walked.

They continued up the sidewalk that led to a junction with the sidewalk that went through the willow dotted park or around it. Addison stayed to the sidewalk that went around the park. Already there were people out in the park, as this was sort of a nicer area where parents had their young kids playing on the large playground structure in the park.

"I thought you said that there wasn't anything to do here in Wellspring."

"There isn't." She said.

"Then you've never been to the park."

"Yes I have."

"When?"

"When my parents were alive." She said in a cold tone, one that would have made his mother slap his head for it. So he did it himself.

He jogged around so that he blocked Addison's path. "I'm sorry, Addison. I didn't mean to come off sounding like a dickhead."

She shrugged. "Thank you for apologizing. Other people would have continued laughing."

"I'm not like those pricks at school." He stopped her from walking around him.

"You're big and scary, you're just like them."

"No I'm not. If I was I would have tormented you. My folks raised me better than that. So what if you're not perfect, I don't care."

He chose to do something that she obviously didn't care for the moment he did it. Roman hugged her, drawing her backpack and all into his arms. She stiffened up, she had her hands trapped between him and her body and she fought the entire time.

The moment he let go, she shoved him and ran. Addison ran down the sidewalk faster than he anticipated. So Roman chased after her, only to try to grab her arm as she was making it to a crosswalk on a flashing four-way intersection just up the block. It was a mildly busy street and if he didn't catch her she would have run off into traffic.

"Stop touching me." She slapped at his hand. "I don't like people touching me. Why do you have to touch me? It's bad enough when you speak my skin feels funny, but you can't touch me."

"Why?" He asked with his hands up. He didn't know why she had freaked out the way she did, or what she was talking about but if she bolted for the street again Roman was prepared to catch her. "Why can't I touch you, or hug you?"

Her mouth opened and shut, her hands went up to her hair and pulled at the loose strands. The fact that she was pretty much pulling her hair out of her head, Roman took a step back.

"Okay, how about we calm down for a moment?" He asked. "I'm not going to touch you, Addison. But calm down. Please."

She stood and looked down at their feet. She didn't look at him, her hair fell around her face as she then gripped her backpack straps. Addison did take deep breaths, in through her nose and out through her mouth. At least she stopped pulling her hair.

"I only grabbed you because you were going to run into traffic. Please don't run from me. I am not, and I will never, hurt you, Addison."

"They all do, someone always does though."

"I'm not one of them. You have to believe me, believe in what I have to say. I am not like those asses at school." He stepped closer this time, thankful she didn't run away. "Just don't run like that. You almost ran into a street."

"You scare me." She said that like it had pained her.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. That was never my intention."

He didn't touch her but there was a section of hair that was hanging in front of half her face. Roman reached out and pushed it from her right eye. She jerked back a little but didn't look him in the face. Roman smiled when she obviously tried not to look at him, she looked everywhere but where he wanted her.

"Come on, let's get you home." He said. "Watch both ways before crossing this time." He said.

She was breathing hard but she did as he told her to. She turned, looked both ways and when no cars were coming, she started to cross. Roman followed. While Addison never looked at him, he certainly looked at her. He had never met someone so small and dainty, not even at his last school. Her backpack had a few buttons on it, which comprised of the Captain America logo, Marvel's Shield logo and a few other superheroes that marked her as a comic book fan.

"Which superhero is your favorite?"

"Thor and Captain America." She answered without a thought.

"Okay, why?"

She shrugged. When she did, she tripped and started falling forward. Roman was able to catch her before she landed on her hands and face.

"I got you, sweetheart," he said as he straightened her up.

She pushed his hands off of her, he caught her wrists as she tried actually shoving him when she put her hands on his chest. He could almost feel the anger rolling off of her and he didn't know why she got so mad when all he was trying to do was keep her from hurting herself.

"For someone who doesn't like being touched, you really do like touching me." He put some pressure on her wrists and she looked up at him, a single tear falling down her face.

"He touched me," she choked on a sob. "I ran but he grabbed me. That's why I don't like people touching me."

He, he who?

From what Roman knew of her, and what had happened, it had been something like a home robbery and she had been attacked or something like that. Her mother was found near a dumpster, what happened to her Dad wasn't disclosed. As Roman stared at her, as she started to really cry, he stepped closer so that her forehead could rest on his chest.

"Addison, I will never hurt you. That's a promise." He said.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this one. Still busy but I'll try to get some of my other stories updated soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Words were just words without actions. Addison didn't know if she could trust Roman on his promise. The guy was big, he was a little scary to look at because even though he was almost eighteen-she assumed- he was sporting a bushy goatee beard with long hair. The other guy. Seth had been similar in dark bushy hair, though not as long as Roman's. Dean didn't look like he cared that his hair was messed up that day, all he wore was a leather jacket that hid something about himself.

It was all she could think about as she and Roman continued on their way to her house.

At her home, she opened the front door. "Grandma, I'm home."

"Why weren't you home twenty minutes ago?" The older woman had to use a walker to stand from her recliner chair.

"Because I missed the bus."

"Why?"

"Just some kids...I guess." She said. "Grandma, this is Roman Reigns, he walked me home from his house on the other side of the park. Roman, this is my grandmother, Betty Douglas. Mom's mom."

Roman stayed out on the porch but her grandmother looked him over.

"You walked Addison home?"

"Yes, ma'am. My friend dropped us off over at my place and we walked."

"I don't like Addison coming home late. Late means bad stuff could have happened to her. She had to be home on time." Her grandma's hands shook as she struggled with her walker. "She has to give me my medications on time, I don't want them being administered late."

"Okay, ma'am. I understand. I'll personally see that Addison gets on the bus next time. I promise."

"Then you're a good kid. Good kids like Addison are hard to find." Grandma started to turn around. "Addison, I need my medication."

"I'm sorry..." she looked at Roman.

"May I come in, Ms. Betty?" Roman asked.

"Good kids are welcome." She said as she waved him in. "Addison, I'm not going to tell you again, I need my medication."

Addison put her backpack down next to the beat-up couch and went into the kitchen. Over her grandmother's coffee pot was a cupboard and it was where she kept her grandmother's medications. High blood pressure, heart medication, other stuff that Addison didn't fully understand. It was all there.

While she was getting her grandmother's afternoon dose ready, Grandma was talking.

"You're nicer than that one friend that stole my purse." Her grandmother said.

"Thank you, ma'am. Do you want a drink?"

"Coffee. Two teaspoons of sugar and Hazelnut powder, two teaspoons. Don't overdo the teaspoons. My favorite mug is next to the sink, the Cocoa Cola mug." Grandma said as she sat back down in her recliner.

The television was changed to an old western that she always watched in the afternoons.

Roman prepared the coffee for her grandmother. "I'm sorry..." Addison mumbled as she put a pill bottle back up in the cupboard.

"For what? Mom would have kicked my butt if I didn't offer to help." He answered.

Yeah, but the house was a mess, it was dark because Grandma was in one of her dark moods and because her grandmother was in a dark mood, so was Addison. The trash was overflowing like a volcano with a lava landslide of trash because she just hadn't had the time to get around to it. Even their yard needed fixing up. Addison took a deep breath, the stale air rising up again. She would have to Fabreeze the place, because both she and her grandmother hate the vacuum cleaner

Filling a small glass with water from a water pitcher in the fridge, Addison picked up a cookie in the Pirate cookie jar on the way out with the medications.

"Here, Grandma. Your right dose of medications and a taste." She held her hand with the pills out to her grandmother and gave her the water glass.

After her grandmother swallowed the pills, she happily took the cookie from Addison. Addison saw her grandmother smile when Roman came in with her mug of coffee.

She smelled it, sipped it and relaxed more. "You actually did it right. I have to tell Addison four times how to make coffee."

Biting her lip, Addison turned and grabbed her backpack before walking back through the kitchen and into a hall that led to the rest of the house. Hot tears started to pool in her eyes as she went to her bedroom. She opened her bedroom door and chucked her backpack on her small bed.

"Addy?" She heard Roman. "Are you okay?"

"No." She turned towards her desk and pulled out the beat up desk chair, one of the few things she managed to salvage from her old house.

"You did nothing wrong."

"No, I always mess something up. I hate coffee because..." she stopped when started to tell him about that one time, the one time that left a scar on her inner arm. "I ran into Dad once, I was excited and he had a hot cup of coffee freshly made. When I hit him, I got burnt. It was an accident, Dad wasn't mad, but I hate coffee now because of that." She never told anyone that, not even the court appoint therapist she was supposed to see once a month.

She heard Roman walk into the room, picked up her backpack, put it on the floor and sat on her bed. His bulky weight made the bed creak as he sat there looking at her.

"Who stole your grandmother's purse?" Roman asked. It was a strange question but one she didn't mind talking about.

"A girl befriended me after what happened, I thought she was being nice you know. She would come over, claiming to make sure I was okay. But she would steal money out of grandma's purse. Then one day the entire purse had disappeared. Grandma has a transport van come to pick her up so she could go get her medications. She had surgery and had pain pills. All those pills disappeared. That's why she says you're a good kid."

She pulled out what she was working on, the recent sketch of a comic she was doing for fun. There had been a plot hole in one of the comics that she had, and she was making a comic about that plot hole. It was only in black and white, but it was still good. Captain America looked okay, she had a problem with Iron man though.

"You don't have to stay here." She said.

"Just making sure you're okay. Do you want me to leave?"

She shrugged.

"Tell you what, I'll leave around five o'clock. You can help me with something."

He got up and closed the door to her room. Addison dropped her pencil and curled over where she sat, putting her hands on her head. Of course, that was something he would want, he knew she wouldn't talk about it.

Roman pulled something from her backpack and put it on her desk. "Can you explain to me this part of the chapter we talked about today?"

It was a section of the chapter about one of the generals in the Revolutionary War.

"General Washington," she started to read because she had a hard time earlier in class when Roman spoke up.

Roman took her by the arm, had her stand up and he took the textbook as well. He led her over to her bed and sat down with her, their backs were to the wall but Roman gave her the textbook back. He only leaned over as she read the passage about the Boston Tea Party, which was a revolt against the taxes that the King of England at the time was implementing on the American Colonies.

They got to the end of the chapter, going over everything that Mr. Michaels wanted of them, and Addison didn't know what to do next.

"I didn't pay attention in class." She said as she scooted to the edge of the bed.

"Why not?"

"You were sitting behind me. And when you talk my skin tingles."

"Oh. I see."

He got up and stretched as she put the textbook down on her desk. Addison didn't dare look at him, sure that he would laugh at her if he saw how red in the face she was. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw that he was looking at a few of her ribbons, trophies, and pictures of her and her family together at her track meets.

"Grandma never came to any of my meets," Addison said.

"Why did you quit track? What did you excel in again?"

"Cross Country. I quit because of everything. After what happened with my parents, grandma, the kids at school; it just wasn't important anymore. I'm... well I'm just not good anymore."

She watched as Roman turned towards her, took two steps and continued to stare at her. All the staring had her looking down.

"You shouldn't give up on something that you enjoy. If it weren't for football I don't think I would have a chance to get the friends I have now." Roman said.

"Who'd want to be friends with me?" She asked.

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, Addison, I'm your friend." He said in a low voice. "And if you stick with me, you'll be fine."

"You just pity me, pity this." She motioned to her room, but she also meant her grandmother. "I don't want to be a pity friend."

"A pity friend? Who put that in your pretty mind?" He had her trapped, pressed up against her desk and her desk chair. "I didn't pity you back when we met on that movie set. I thought you were cute back then."

"Stop. Just, stop. I'm not..."

"Come on, Addison, don't do that to yourself. I like you just fine the way you are. That's what matters. Over a while, I'm sure you'll get to know Seth and Dean as well." Roman's voice got quieter, and the lower his voice went the more the electric sparks danced across her skin.

"Stop talking. I don't...I don't like your voice." She had to push him away, tried to make him step back, which he didn't at first.

Finally, he stepped back and smiled. "Then you better get the rest of your homework done. Guess I better do the same."

She watched him leave her room, and yet she followed him. Down the hall, since her grandmother was sleeping in her recliner so they walked through the front room. Roman opened up the front door and walked out, leaving it open.

"See you at school tomorrow, Addison." He turned and smiled at her. "I can't wait to work on our classes together."

He put his hands in his pockets and walked down the sidewalk. Addison felt her eyes hot, her skin was tingling and everything just seemed so wrong at the same time.

* * *

Roman saw Seth park his car sometime later. Sure he had been trying to read about equations and all that, he just couldn't. Not after what happened with Addison and her grandmother, he couldn't focus on school work.

"Where's Dean?"

"Mom got on his case when we had gone out to get new clothes, he was being an uh..." Seth looked around for Roman's mother Patricia. "He was being an ass about it. From the looks of things, something happened when you took Addison home."

"She's got a crush on me." Roman smiled as he sat down in front of his books and papers. "She just doesn't know it yet."

"How do you know?"

"My voice tingles across her skin. She likes it, she just can't understand why she likes it."

"What are you going to do?" Seth asked.

"Ask her out."

"Dude, come on."

"I can't help it, Seth. She's cute, she's afraid of me but after what happened... her grandmother is sort of like her. Has ticks, traits and stuff like that. Has to take her medication at a certain time, apparently, I make her coffee perfect. God, she looked embarrassed when her grandmother called it out."

"How did it go beforehand?"

"We had a long talk on the walk to her place. She looked at me with fear, utter fear. She started telling me something, something about that night."

"Oh. I thought they already covered it in the news."

"Most of it, not all. There's a lot that we still don't know about that night. It's the reason she doesn't like to be touched."

"Is she really that traumatized?" Seth sat down in a chair across from him.

"I believe so. I'm going to work on getting her to trust me."

He told Seth about how Addison reacted towards him. She looked at him like he was a scary monster. Not that having long hair and bushy goatee was scary already. Addison looked embarrassed, her face taking on a nice shade of pink.

"Oh. Is she really that traumatized?" Seth sat down in a chair across from him.

"I believe so. I'm going to work on getting her to trust me."

"Do you think that's wise? Asking her out?"

"Not all at once. I have to get her to trust me. And you."

Seth laughed. "I kind of figured that out. I mean, I'm not against having her as a friend. I don't want to scare her off as fast as you seem to have it."

She would run away, she would probably go silent more than likely if what his cousin Dwayne said was true.

"I wonder if my cousin can talk to her uncle."

"Why?"

"She needs to be free again. She needs help. She used to run, she used to be so free. She had more trophies than either of us and that was just in track and field. Cross Country is no simple thing. And now she doesn't think she's worth anything."

"Man, that's tough. Do you think that's smart? What if she finds out?

"She won't. From what I can tell she still loves her uncle but other than that, she's not going to tell him what's going on."

"If that's what you plan on doing, go ahead. I like her, friend-wise at least. Dean might grow to like her as well if he doesn't keep getting grounded first."

At least with Dean, he was respectful since coming into Seth's parents' home. Mr. and Mrs. Rollins knew the boys would get along, as the discussion went when they had talked with Roman's parents. The three of them were nearly brothers, so it wasn't too far off from what Roman's mother thought. Brothers in arms, as his father said.

"If you think telling her uncle is the right thing to do, do it fast, man. I actually want to see what she talks about when it comes to that Comic Book store of hers."

At least Seth was willing to give Addison a chance, it was more than what anyone else seemed to be doing.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked this update. I'll be back when I can.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Addison spent the next couple of days on eggshells, the crunchy kind that could poke a person's foot. That's what it felt like when sitting in homeroom then in lunch period where she sat with The Shield and then again in history class later in the day. It only was worse if she heard Roman talk or touched her. He was always touching her when he took her out to the bus area to wait for her bus.

Then there was the fact that sometimes he and Seth and then Dean- if he wasn't in trouble with Seth's parents- would come over to her house and do things for her and her grandmother.

"Good kids, especially good boy kids are hard to find." Her grandmother said. "The first good kid is handsome don't you think, Addison?"

And she said it within earshot of Roman as he had been making her coffee. How embarrassing was it for her she had to go through that, very. When Addison looked at Roman as he was finishing up with the coffee, he was smiling.

It wasn't all that bad, the kids at school stopped harassing her, at least when the Shield wasn't around.

She had forgotten one little thing by Saturday, not until the three of them showed up at Must Love Comics, she had let Seth borrow the latest Avengers comic. Mr. Mitchell the comic book store owner called her from around the discount comics section she had been reorganizing again. She walked towards the counter only to stop short.

"Hey, Addy," Seth said. "I forgot to give you your comic back earlier in the week. It was a good read." He said as he held it up.

Flickering her eyes to each of the tall guys, she went up and took it from him. "Thank you."

She started to turn, to leave, to get away from them but stopped when her skin tingled as Roman spoke up.

"After we help you with settling your grandma in for the night, would you like to go to the movies with us?" Roman asked. "We'll buy you dinner."

For a moment she couldn't understand why her boss was smiling. Mr. Mitchell seemed to find her uncomfortable state funny. She couldn't see what was so amusing about it, it made her heart thump against her sternum as she thought about what was going on.

"What movie?" She finally asked.

"We found out that the old movie theatre in town is showing all the Avengers movies at once. We'll watch whichever one you haven't seen."

"I haven't seen any beyond Age of Ultron." She said. "No Thor Dark of the World or Ragnarok or any of those."

"Great, I've been wanting to see Ragnarok," Dean said. Like usual he was smiling, but she didn't know why.

She scrunched her face up and then turned to go back to work. No, she had to put her slightly bent comic book up.

"Addison," she shivered when Roman spoke to her. "Come here."

At first, she didn't want to, she wanted to keep walking. But she did eventually turn around and look towards him. Roman motioned her to him, beckoning her without using any words except for the hand gesture.

When Addison was a few feet from him, looking at his bushy goatee beard thing, she flinched when he pulled her into a hug. It was like he was petting the back of her hair or something like that, which didn't make any sense.

"See you in a bit. We're going to go look over here for some of the new comics." He said when he pulled back.

"Okay." Stiff as a board, she walked away. She didn't even bother to look behind her as she heard the laughing start up between Dean and Seth.

Maybe their laughing hurt the most for her than getting hugged. A touch on the back, or lightly taking her hand and leading her through the crowded high school halls was wearing off after the last couple of days. But it was Roman doing all of that, the other two didn't really do anything other than talk.

Addison dropped her comic book off at her backpack that was in the small breakroom before heading back out and getting back to work. A group of kids, like ten-year-olds, came through and disorganized the entire discount bins of comics that she had to go sifting through and separating Marvel from DC and other similar, Dark Horse, comics so that they get put in each proper Alphabet box. Avengers in A, Batman in the B box, and so on after that.

"Hey," she jumped when Seth showed up. "Is this the wall of discounts or something?"

"Wall of Discounts? Oh, you mean the discount bins. Yes." She nodded and went back through the D bin, pulling out one comic that was supposed to be in the E bin.

"Do you have any Ninja Turtles?"

"I have a hard time remembering if it's in T or in N." She said as she put the comic in the E bin. "Is it Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Ninja Turtles? I know they are by Mirage Comics but we don't sort in Publishing House order, we do it by title. A is for Avengers and B is for Batman, that sort of way."

"N or T. Got it. Thanks." He smiled.

She scrunched up her face as she watched Seth go over to the N bin, which was on the floor since the shelves were three levels high. "Why do you like Comics?"

"Why do I like comics? I don't know, I think because they are cool and have a lot of action in them. You don't have to read long words to figure out what is going on. Why do you like them?"

"Escape. You've seen my home, how I live. If I can't have a hero, then I'll just read about the good guys for once. Sometimes I make a comic about a plothole just to have something to do."

"You make comics?"

"Not long ones, just a few pages. It takes a few weeks but..." she shrugged.

She pushed the D bin back in place and walked over to the E bin and pulled it out. Then she did that, going through that bin to find misplaced comics that someone had put in the wrong place.

"Hey, there's a football game coming up. I mean you know that Roman is on the team now." Seth said. "Sucks I couldn't get on the main team. Though I am the first runner up if their running offensive running back gets injured, then I'm called in."

"No. I don't like those things."

"You were on the track team, at least once before."

"I don't like those things. They are loud and I don't like them." She didn't mean to raise her voice but his pushing of the topic grated at her nerves. "They smell, they are loud, and it gets cold at night and I have to stay home to take care of grandma. So I'm not going."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Addy. I just thought you would like to go out and do something different." he sighed like he was annoyed or something.

"I want to. I want to do something new but I have to help grandma." She tried to sound better about it.

"Why don't you ask your uncle Bret?"

"Because I don't want to bother him. He's really nice, I don't want to cause him more problems." She said truthfully.

"My Mom used to work with older people, something like a caregiver. If you talked to her..."

"No." She pulled a comic book out and put it to the side. "I don't want to put her out. And I wouldn't be able to pay for her services."

She heard him sigh. "Well, then I'll ask Mom myself." He took something from one of the bins and walked away.  
Addison didn't like that pushing. She liked the life she had, she didn't have to be around people if she didn't want to.

There were only so many things that her grandmother needed, the rest of the time she could do her homework, work on her comic book writing and enjoy a television show when her grandmother went to bed for the night. Then she could repeat it all over again so she wouldn't deal with people more than usual.

After she had reorganized the bins, Addison went to find where the new merchandise was in the stock room. Mr. Mitchell had said that they got some Pop Vinyl figures in from the recent Marvel movies, there were some posters she had to put in the poster bin at the front of the store. It was amazing at how much a person would rather spend on a poster than a comic book, or a plastic figurine than a comic book.

"Hi, Addison," Dean said as he was looking through a collection book of DC comics. Reprints put together in a book form.

She looked at him. "Hi."

Roman was on the far side of that side of the comic book store. He would look up at her but Addison turned away. At least he was on that side, she wouldn't have to hear his voice or smell him. He smelt good that day.  
Shaking her head, Addison went back to putting the posters in their designated slot.

"What time are we picking you up for the football game?" Dean asked.

"I told Seth that I'm not going." She knelt down further to one of the lower bins where a Harley Quinn poster was supposed to go. "So, I'm not going."

"Yeah, you are," Dean said.

It was the way he said it, the way it sounded. It was like a threat and she took it as one. Getting up after putting the last poster in the bin and getting up to finish the rest of her stuff since she had to be home by four that day to help her grandmother.

While hoping that the three guys wouldn't bother her for the rest of her shift, she didn't see them leave. At least she thought so when she clocked out after her stuff had been finished and she went to exit the store. She stopped when they were outside on one of the nearby picnic tables eating something, talking and chatting. There was that deli shop thing next to Must Love Comics, she figured that was why they were there.

"Addy, come here," Seth called. "Mr. Mitchell said you like the cold turkey combo with a diet Mountain Dew. Got you one."

Clutching at her backpack strap, she shook her head. "I have to go home now."

"Nani," Roman said. "Nani, wait up."

She looked around. There wasn't anyone else but herself and the three of them on that certain street. She was going towards the bus stop she would take to get back to her home since that was how she got to Must Love Comics in the first place.

"Addison, I'm talking to you," Roman said, catching the back of her backpack and pulling her to a stop. "Stop, just for a minute."

She pushed him away. When she did, he caught her hand. Addison scrunched up her face, tried to pull away only for Roman to pull her back to him, even closer this time all without hugging her.

"Nani, stop."

"I'm not Nani." She snapped at him. "Let me go. I have to go to the bus stop. I need to get to the bus or grandma will be upset. You know she will." Already her heart thudded in her head and throat closed up.

"We're driving you home. Come on, you know us by now. You can trust us." His thumb rubbed the back of her hand, him looking down at her and smiling. The smiling sent the electric shocks across her body, just as his touch and his voice did.

"Please. Come on." Roman tried again, in a voice that was lower, less aggressive. But she nevertheless felt the little sparks across her skin.

She sighed. "Only because Grandma likes your coffee making skills. And don't call me Nani."

He only smiled. "Come on, Addison. Let's go."

* * *

Roman was making Grandma Betty's coffee while Seth and Dean cleaned out some of the trash that had been gathering up in the kitchen and the bathroom. Looking over at Grandma Betty, as she insisted on the three of them calling her, she was happy with her afternoon television show, they even brought her some food from that Deli shop they had stopped at. She didn't touch the food but Addison didn't throw it out.

Addison finished getting Grandma Betty's medication ready when the landline phone rang. She went to get it off the kitchen wall, the kind of phone that still had a long cord that could almost travel down the hall to her bedroom.

"Hello?" She answered on the fourth ring.

Roman heard a man say Addy-girl, which his cousin Dwayne had told him was Bret Hart's nickname for her.

"Okay." She answered, glancing over at Roman was who watching her. "Why are you calling, Uncle Bret? You don't call in the middle of the month."

Whatever Bret Hart said, it really pissed her off. Addison scrunched up her face at Roman, his smile fade before she turned her back on him. "I don't want to talk about him, Uncle Bret."

Bret must have asked her a question with how she sounded in her next statement as Roman went to give Grandma Betty her coffee and her medication Addison had prepped earlier.

"I want Nattie back. She's my friend and my cousin. I want her back. Why couldn't she stay?"

Roman smiled at Grandma Betty before looking up when Dean and Seth came in from their trash and recycling run. He motioned towards Addison, who was now leaning on the wall, a hand pressed to her head and rocking where she stood front and back.

"Something wrong?" Seth asked as he walked up to Roman with Dean in tow.

"The other day, that conversation we had. She knows I talked to my cousin." He said. "Gave me that cute glare of hers."

"Scrunch face? Yeah, it may be cute but she obviously has it out for you." Dean leaned into the sink to wash his hands.

"I don't need help, Uncle Bret. I have this. I can do this." She said, whatever her uncle had told her really tore at her.

Fed up, Roman walked up to her. Touching her shoulder only had her turning around and hitting his hand, nothing hurt but damn, she really didn't want him touching her. Mustering his own glare, one toned down just for her sake, he pried the phone out of her tight hold and held it up to his ear. That hand he grasped, he squeezed it in his free hand, brought it up and kissed her palm.

There, she stopped struggling at that act. She stared with a puckered fish mouth.

"Hi, Mr. Hart, this is Roman Reigns, Dwayne Johnson's cousin." He said to the man.

"I'm under the impression my niece doesn't like you." The movie producer said.

"She may think so, only because she obviously doesn't know better. Mr. Hart," he started to say but the man cut him off.

"Bret will do fine. If this is about finding help for my sister in law's mother, I'm looking into it."

"Good, I've had some things planned out for her and me. Just let me know further. Would you like my contact information, Mister, I mean Bret?"

They exchanged contact information. Not that Roman didn't mind a major movie producer to have his phone number. While talking though, Roman found a new thing to do to make her feel uncomfortable, pressing the palm of her hand to his face, letting her feel his scruff he had let grow out. Addison resisted at first but when he didn't budge she sort of stopped, only because Seth and Dean joined them in the hallway.

"Yes, my friends and I are helping out but the football season is coming up and I would like Addison to join us after school to watch us practice, and possibly go to games with us," Roman said before kissing her thumb.

Her scrunch face came back full force and he let go. Addison turned, walked down the hall and went into her room, closing the door behind her.

"Would it be okay if I asked her out on a date?" Roman asked Bret.

"Are you sure you want that?"

"Bret, I want her to feel normal. With everything she goes through, I think it's the one thing she wants without knowing how to ask for it. That and help with her grandmother. Just getting her out of the house would do her good."

Bret Hart really did have a heart. After talking about what to do with Grandma Betty, while keeping his voice low, Roman knew that what they came up with was good for her in the end.

"So, I guess we're not going to the movies tonight?" Dean asked as he leaned on the counter.

"What do you think, stupid?" Seth glared at his almost brother.

* * *

**To some of the comments about not liking Grandma Betty, you have to understand, I've dealt with an elderly woman like Grandma Betty who had Dementia, an elderly memory loss issue but less extreme than Alzheimer's. It's a stressful thing to deal with. I'm not making this old woman a bad person, but Addison needed a roadblock to prevent her from succeeding in her goal in this story. Just my two cents.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Addison had refused to come out of her room. Even when Roman knocked on the door to say goodbye for the evening. Whatever he had planned, she sat in the middle of her room, her hands over her ears and face pressed in her knees. Addison didn't even leave her room for the rest of the night, not to have her time alone, even when her grandmother went to bed.

It only got weirder by the time school came around. Thankfully she didn't see the three guys Sunday when she went back to work, only when she walked into her homeroom class on Monday. Everything had been normal up until that point, from getting onto the school bus that morning, getting to school with no problems. No one talked to her, no one made fun of her. They left her alone.

Until Roman, Seth and Dean walked into the room.

"Hi, Addy," Seth said as he sat in his seat in front of her.

She didn't say anything, kept working on her research she had been doing on her subject.

"Are you guys still hung up on her?" Alexa asked as she and Carmella walked into the room.

The three of the guys looked at the two girls. Addison barely looked at them, only glancing up when Alexa and Carmella came to stand in front of where she had been sitting.

"I mean, what is it that she has that you three want? An easy A or something?" Carmella asked. "I mean, why else would you want anything to do with her? Are you sleeping with her or something?"

Hot face, hot eyes and all, Addison ducked her head further, almost to the point that her nose was touching the top of her desk. Those hurtful things were coming back again, the ones that felt itchy in a bad way. At least when it was itchy as Roman let her touch his face, it was a nice itchy. This was different in a bad way. Definitely not good.

"Nani," Roman mumbled. She looked up at him as his hand rested on her back. "Okay?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

She shifted away from how his hand touched her back. "Fine. Stop touching me."

Mr. Calderon walked into the classroom. "Everyone better sit down. We need to get started." He said, barely glancing at the group that was at the front of the classroom.

Addison sighed as Carmella and Alexa had to go to the back of the classroom where the rest of their group was situated. Roman, Dean, and Seth sat in their seats, and she remained silent for the rest of the class.

Mr. Calderon talked about citing sources, which was hard to follow when she hadn't known about it beforehand. The other teachers at the school didn't talk about citing sources on papers if she were to write one. Fervently, she took notes of the whiteboard. Her teacher spoke fast, she was able to take down the basic notes because Mr. Calderon usually erased what notes he wrote down. At least with note taking she could fade into it, and not have to think about Roman sitting next to her, though she did have to lean around Seth to see the board.

By the end of class, she had filled up six different pages in her notebook with wide arcing scribbles trying to keep up with her teacher.

"Hey, did Jimmy and Jey call you?" Seth asked as they were getting up to leave for their next classes.

He wasn't talking to her, so she didn't look at him.

"Yeah, they're moving this weekend and will be starting Monday. I hope they are going to be trying out on the football team. We need a few good tight ends." Roman said as he put his notebook in his backpack. "You'll like my cousins, Addison."

"Are they big like you?" She asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Then how am I going to like them if they are big like you. I can barely stand you as it is." She took her things and left.

"Ooh, sick burn." Dean had said.

She was barely out of the room and heading down the hall towards the stairs when Roman caught up with her.

"You don't really hate me, do you, Addison?" He asked.

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes, but not all the time?"

She went to grab the handrail. "I don't like you touching me, or talking to me. Why did you kiss my hand Saturday."

"Well, if I can't give you one on the mouth, I figured you would like it that way."

"Why would I want you to kiss me on the mouth?" She started down the steps, him following right behind.

"Because, I want to but you obviously don't."

"Why do you want to kiss me? Why do you even want to care about me? Why did you get your cousin to call my uncle?" She wanted to rattle off other questions but it was almost already too hard to focus on just walking down the stairs as it was.

At the bottom of the stairs Roman grabbed her backpack to stop her. "I care, Addison. I care about you."

He lightly tipped her chin up with a finger. Pulling away from him, she turned and headed for the Special Ed class. Right behind her, again, Roman followed.

"Addison," he stood near Room 9's door. "I want you to like me. What do I have to do to get you to like me?"

"Leave me alone."

"Besides that."

"Go away."

He shook his head. "Yeah, not happening, Beautiful."

Her mouth opened when Roman called her that. Several other kids had stopped when he said that, watching her and his face off in the hallway.

"Ey, what's going on?" Mr. O'Shaunessy, the Special Ed teacher asked. "Lass, you okay?"

She nodded. Even though Mr. O'Shaunessy was a good teacher, one of the few, his voice was like a fork scraping over a plate. It was a bad feeling, not the kind she got from Roman. Even if Mr. O'Shaunessy was a good guy, his voice always made her shiver and shift.

She went to put her things on the table that some of the few Special Ed students used to put their things on. She grabbed her English notebook out and went to sit on one of those body balls at a table. The one thing about Wellspring High School was that it had a good Special Ed class, that was why her parents and her uncle insisted on her going to that school. Their program was an escape for others just like herself, though none had it as bad as she did.

"Who was that fella, Addison?" Mr. O'Shaunessy asked as he sat down in a chair across from her.

"Roman Reigns."

"Dwayne Johnson's cousin? I thought I heard about him coming here. Was he bothering you?"

"The Shield always bothers me. They come over and talk, try to get me to talk. I just don't like it. They want me to do things with them."

"What sort of things?" His voice dipped a little.

"They want me to go to their football games with them." She said. "When they don't practice they come over and they talk to me. Roman is Grandma Betty's favorite because he can make her coffee better than me."

"So, you're having a problem with your friend?"

"He's not my friend." She grumbled as she flicked at a bent edge of her paper. "He says he cares but he doesn't. I know he doesn't. I'm just a pity friend."

"Pity friend?"

"He's only my friend because he pities me, because I'm not smart, and if he is seen with me it will make him more popular. But no matter what, he won't leave me alone. And he calls me Nani when he knows my name is Addison."

"A lot of the Hawaiian guys use Nani to say beautiful."

"Why does he call me that then."

"He's calling you beautiful."

Mr. O'Shaunessy never lied, he always told the truth. She knew that at least he was the one teacher she could count on.

"Who told you about this pity friend stuff, lass?"

She shrugged. "A girl." It was true, a girl did tell her this. Alexa Bliss told her that on the first day the guys arrived.

"Oh, I see. She's trying to make you jealous, or get you to stop hanging out with these three guys, The Shield."

"Why?"

"You're friends with three lads that have a strong pull in the sports world. Roman is on the fast track to the NFL. He's popular, like his cousin Dwayne Johnson. She's jealous of you for being able to be so close to them."

"But I'm not. Not really."

"Addison, Lass, look at me." He said in that soft tone he always used on other special ed students and herself. She did. "You can trust me when I say that they really are good guys. Roman understands you better than you think you do."

"What do you mean?"

"Ask him about his brother, Matthew. You'll understand why he can relate to you."

Before they could discuss any further, a boy with down syndrome walked up asking Mr. O'Shaunessy for help with his math homework.

Was it possible Alexa was wrong about Roman? That was something she would have to research as she went to work on her English assignment.

* * *

Roman looked around as he stood at the doorway to the cafeteria. While other students came and went with food and friends, he still hadn't seen Addison. He had wanted to find her, like usual. Have her sit with him and the guys but after what happened that morning, he knew she would probably switch tactics. But he hoped her need to keep to a schedule was still in place.

Seth walked up. "Really?"

"What?"

"You know what, idiot." Seth shook his head. "You dropped the ball and admitted you like her, didn't you?"

"How do you know."

"I hear things all the time when we're not together."

Roman sighed. "She needs to know. She doesn't take hints or subtle hints at all. She doesn't really hate me, just hates the shit we do with her."

"Wonder why?"

Before he could say anything, he saw her. Addison was walking towards the cafeteria, her shoulder pressed against the wall with her head down. The smile appeared before Roman could catch hold of it, and he went up to her.

"Addison," he said and she looked at him. Her emotionless face was set firm as she watched him. "Come on, let's go get lunch."

She nodded, stayed quiet and walked beside him into the cafeteria. Seth followed suit, Dean showed up a few kids behind, talking to Renee Young. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

While waiting for their turn to get food, Roman took in the other kids around them. Some of the girls would whisper behind hands and guys would outright point and laugh. The other guys on the football team would actually make eye contact and nod, but that was the extent of it. If he was capable of it, he would protect his Nani.

His Nani, though that had been a joke for him to mull over in his head, Roman didn't mind it. Alexa and Carmella were really pissed looking at him and Seth as they stood with Addison. Those two, along with a handful of others, really had no idea they weren't doing themselves any favors.

"Why do you like me?" Addison asked, though he barely heard her over the chatter of other students, he did hear what she had asked.

"Huh?" He leaned down to hear better.

"Nothing," she turned away, looking at anything and everything but him.

He smiled at her as her fingers playing with the adjustable strap of her backpack. Addison had a nice way of turning a cute shade of pink.

They got their food and went to sit down at their usual table at the back of the lunchroom. Again, as usual, Addison didn't talk or say much of anything at least for a little bit. She didn't have her notebook, the one she wrote in when she felt like it.

"Where's that notebook of yours?" Roman asked.

"I don't have it." She said.

"Why? I thought you wrote and drew in it."

She didn't say anything, just reached for her milk carton. That's when he saw the mark on her wrist and forearm.

"What happened? Who did this?" He asked, motioning to it.

She pulled her arm down, letting it rest in her lap. "Nothing."

Dean and Renee were across from them, but Seth was sitting between Renee and Addison at their circular table. Seth and Roman made eye contact before looking at Addison.

"Addy, if something happened you need to say something. Did someone hurt you?" Roman asked.

She shrugged.

"I think I know. Alexa." Renee said. "She has it out for Seth but apparently because of your ties with Addison, she's taking it out on her. At least that's what Naomi and Charlotte say."

Naomi was one of the cheerleaders, Charlotte Flair was a girl whose Dad was like some sort of big company man and had a lot of money, but she had been pretty down to earth. It was just no one seemed to want to stick up for Addison.

"What? Why?" Roman asked.

"Don't really know. Nothing they do really make sense either. But yeah." Renee shrugged. "Sorry if I couldn't be more help."

"It's fine, Renee. We're not going anywhere." Dean said. "You still got us, even if I am a jackass sometimes."

Roman looked at Addison. "Remember, we're The Shield. We'll protect you at all costs."

"This happened when you weren't there. How can you protect me…"

"I think I can deal with that," Renee said. "At least I know how Carmella and Alexa are expected to behave."

There was no telling what Renee had going on in her head, but Dean seemed to enjoy her suggestion of getting back at the two girls that were giving Addison the most grievances. Not that Roman didn't mind, as long as Addison didn't get in trouble.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Addison kept her arm hidden from Mr. Michaels later in the school day, making sure to not take any notes on the next section of the Revolutionary War. She read out of her textbook, she did listen about the Underground Railroad and Andrew Jackson's approval of the Trail of Tears for the Cherokees in the areas of North Carolina. They, The Native Americans, were different like her, they didn't want anything to happen but other people seemed to take great joy in making their lives miserable.

All the while Roman sat behind her. When he spoke, the little electrical impulses danced across her skin. Her nerve endings buzzed by the time the class had ended.

"So you're on the football team now, right, Reigns?" Mr. Michaels asked after class was over and everyone was leaving to go home.

"Yes, sir. I'm taking Addison to her bus and then heading directly out for practice afterward."

Mr. Michaels looked at her as she put her notebook and textbook in her backpack. "So, you're friends with Addison Hart?"

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Michaels sighed, shook his head and walked away. He usually did if something about her parents or Uncle Bret were brought up. He may not have liked her Dad but she knew that he gave her good grades for her homework.

"Is something wrong with you and your teacher or something?" Roman asked her.

"He never got along with my Dad or Uncle Bret."

"Owen Hart, that was who your Dad was, right?"

She didn't nod, she didn't shrug, all Addison did was get her things together and then head for the classroom door. "I don't want to be late for my bus. Uncle Bret said that someone was going to come out of the house and check on grandma."

"Grandma Betty, how is she doing?"

"She has a doctor's appointment for her heart problem coming up. I usually go with her to something like this but I have to take off of school. I tell everyone ahead of the appointment and they email me my assignments for my missed day. Mr. O'Shaunessy helped me set it up that way. We have medical transport that comes out to give us a ride."

It wasn't that bad to talk to him about such stuff, it felt good to tell someone other than her teachers what was going on in her life. Someone who didn't treat her like dirt.

They walked in silence through the halls of the school, heading to the front bus loading area. Her bus was on the second wave of busses, so Roman stood and waited for her. She learned fairly quickly that practice didn't start until thirty minutes after school was let out, and then they would have practice for an hour and a half. By then he would be over to help Addison with her grandmother.

"Do you mind if I come over and you help me with some homework?" Roman asked.

"What about dinner with your folks?" She remembered that his folks liked to eat dinner with him.

"They are helping my sister move into her and her husband's new home. Besides, I still have no idea what Mr. Michaels was talking about with Andrew Jackson today."

"He hated Native Americans, he supported the Trail of Tears, which uprooted and rehoused many Cherokee people. They marched over the Appalachian Mountains, through Kentucky and into the flatlands of Oklahoma to take their more prosperous lands. It was called the Trail of Tears because many died on the way and no one was able to bury their dead." She summarized that as she stood looking at a nearby tree that was in the median of the student parking lot.

"I was aware that you liked history, I didn't think you could memorize nearly an entire chapter."

"I paraphrased it. Summarizing it." She said.

Other kids were hanging around in their general areas where they were going to be picked up by their busses. She would have had to sit on the stairs leading up to the school if Alexa had stopped her again but ever since Roman had been walking her to her bus to make sure she got on in time, she had sort of liked it. She wasn't being bothered by other students.

"You're still smarter than me, I could never remember stuff like that. I'm really bad at math and science, I've been told by my mom that if I get below a C I'll have to drop football and there's no way in hell I want to do that."

"So you have to do your homework."

"Between practice and school, I don't really have time."

"You can always stop helping me with my grandmother."

He shook his head. Why? Wasn't school and football more important than her anyway? She was certain that his life would be better if he wasn't always trying to help her out.

"We still need to go on that movie date." He said. "Maybe when you're not working on Saturday and Sunday we could go to that cheap movie theatre."

"I always work on Saturday and Sunday."

That was when Roman came to stand directly in front of her, looking down at her. She had to crane her neck up to look at him and that was something she didn't like to do.

"Tell you what, when you get help with your grandmother on Saturdays and Sundays when you work, we go to a movie directly afterward. Just you and me, some popcorn and a drink. How about that?"

He was really insistent on a date, why though? It wasn't like she was special or something. She was special ed but that was different than being special to him. She was just a pity friend.

"Addison? Can you answer me, please? What do you think about that?"

"Won't you have Saturday practice or something?" She asked.

"Yeah, but it won't be all day. We'll find time so that it'll just be you and me. There's no harm in that."

"Why?"

"Why? Why do I want to be with you? Take you out and have fun together?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Well, for one, if you hadn't realized, Addison: I like you. I like you enough that I want to hang out with you. Is that so wrong?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Addison bit her lip, her hand started shaking as he loomed in front of her, looking down at her with his cool brown eyes. She had to look away, she had to look somewhere else that he wasn't.

"I don't know." She said.

"I wish I could hug you but you know that's against the school rules. And that's something you don't want me to do. I just wish I could."

"Why?"

"Why? Why what?"

"Why do you want to do all that? Why do you want to hug me, or hang out with me?" She kept her shoulder turned to him.

"See, this is where I will repeat because I like you. But you'll just ask me why do I like you and I'll say because you're smart, pretty, we have famous relatives in common. You like comic books, you actually have a job, you obviously care about your grandmother and family is a big thing for me. You really should meet my parents. Dad's funny and Mom will want to fatten you up."

"Fatten me up?" She had to look at him. "Why? Am I too skinny?"

"No, definitely not. Mom's Italian, we like to eat a lot. Dad and I are well fed when it comes to mom's cooking."

She wondered what it was that made him see those things in her. She definitely didn't. And she was tired of being alone. She was tired of not having no friends and having to go home all the time.

"When someone comes out to take care of grandma, can I see what a practice looks like for you?" She asked.

"Really?"

She shrugged. "I've never seen a football practice before."

"Great, I would love to have you there. You should bring your homework, you'll have a few hours to do math and science work easily."

She was going to say something when the second wave of busses came up and stopped in front of the school.

"I have to go." She said as she turned back to Roman.

"I'll stop by after practice to see how you're doing." He ran his hand up and down her arm. "See you later, Nani."

"It's Addison."

He only smiled before she walked onto her bus to head home.

* * *

Roman pulled his helmet off after Coach Austin blew his whistle.

"Hit the showers and head home. Don't forget to do your homework." The tall bald man from Texas said. "Reigns, that goes double for you. Your algebra teacher says you're falling behind."

"Yeah, I'll keep trying, Coach." Roman ran his fingers through his overly curly hair.

Hitting the showers with Seth, Dean was hanging out in the locker room considering he wasn't on the football team. He was writing something in a notebook of his for English.

"Hey, getting some homework done?" Seth asked as he dropped his shoulder pads on the bench.

"Yeah, might as well. I stopped by the library with Renee. I didn't want to sit anywhere near those bimbos they call cheerleaders."

Roman laughed. "Yeah, I can see that. Watch our crap, will ya?"

They didn't give Dean enough chance to object, they dropped their stuff off and headed for the showers. After a quick scrub down, and tossing a towel around their waists, Roman and Seth made it out of there in record time. They did find Dean now sprawled out on the bench with their pads on the floor. He was smiling like an idiot.

"Funny, man," Seth said as he picked up his pads. "I'm going to go check on Addison after we're done here. Dwayne contacted me saying that Bret is having a consultation for a caregiver coming out today. Bret will be there."

"Cool, mind if we drop by unannounced?" Dean asked.

"I just barely got her to ask about seeing practice sometime soon. She actually asked to see practice."

Roman pulled on a second shirt, shoving his practice jersey in his duffel he took with him to after school practice.

After changing, and grabbing the crap together, the three of them headed off to Seth's Mercedes. Not before they were stopped by a few of the cheerleaders.

"Hey, Roman," Naomi said, waving from her car.

He waved at her. Charlotte Flair and a few others watched Alexa and Carmella walk over to the three of them.

"So I hear you need help with your homework," Alexa said, her eyes fluttering over towards Seth.

"Are you asking me or him?" Seth asked.

"Roman, of course. We don't want to see one of the top football players in our school falling off the team when we sure as hell need to win this year." Carmella said though she was smiling at Roman this time.

"If he needs help, tell you what. We'll help. Why would we want anything to do with you two after what you've done to our friend?" Dean asked.

"What, the retard? I still don't understand why you three are so hung up on her." Alexa said.

"I don't understand why you're not the retard." Seth countered back as he got in the car.

Roman and Dean followed suit, getting in as well leaving the utterly shocked two chicks standing in the parking lot.

"What is their big deal with Addison? Don't they have nothing better than to bully some girl who is a little different from them?" Dean asked.

"Maybe they're jealous," Roman said. "I think because of her uncle and everything that happened to her, she's an easy target because they know she won't fight back."

But then again, girls could be worse than guys when it came to bullying of special needs kids. That's what he had witnessed in his last school because words could hurt just as bad as any sort of physical abuse. All the more reason to keep Addison safe from the bitches that ran around with too short of skirts during the day.

"Do you think she'll ever fight back?" Seth asked.

"Maybe once she gets a little push from us," Dean said.

"What do you mean?"

Dean told them exactly what he was willing to do for Addison on the way to her house. There was a car there that Roman didn't know, and out front was an obviously pacing Addison. Seth pulled up to the curb and Roman got out.

"Addison, Nani, what's wrong?" Roman asked as he reached for her.

She batted away his hand. "There's a woman in the house. Grandma wants you." She looked at him. "She only wants you to make her coffee, and the woman," she was breathing heavily at this point.

"Addison, you need to calm down," Roman said. "Come here." He reached for her again.

She looked like she was in pain. "I don't know what to do. What do I do? That woman is supposed to help Grandma but…"

The door opened. "Seth, hi honey."

The woman had blonde hair but Seth had brown. The woman, Mrs. Rollins, wore a uniform like a nurse.

"Mom, you're the one Mr. Hart hired?"

"Yep. Hi, Addison, you ran off before I had a chance to introduce myself. I'm Seth's mother." The woman walked down the steps. "I got your grandmother settled down, she's not fussing anymore."

"What did you do? Did you…" Addison stopped.

"I figured out the right way of making her coffee. She's fine. Hi, Dean, Roman. Are you guys the good boys that Ms. Betty seems to be fond of? She seems to like you three a lot."

Addison made a noise, her hands shook at her side as she looked around herself like she was searching for something.

Roman reached his arm out and pulled her into him, tucking her under his chin. She didn't fight, but her hands still shook. It felt like she was shaking all over from the panic. He restrained himself from needing to bury his face into the top of Addison's head, otherwise, he'd be labeled a real Big Dog if he were to start sniffing on her.

Just then a car pulled up, one that had Addison pushing Roman away from her. It was a large black SUV with a rental car sticker on the windshield. And the man that got out was no other than Bret Hart.

"Uncle Bret?" Addison asked, her hands flapped again.

"Hi, Addy-girl. I came to make sure that Grandma Betty was being taken care of. Mrs. Rollins, so good to see you again." Bret said.

She rubbed her face and Roman watched as she allowed her uncle to hug her. It wasn't a long hug, just enough to show some affection, which she obviously needed.

"How do you know Seth's mother?" Addison asked when she stepped back from Bret.

"Seth told me about your problems, Roman told Dwayne, Dwayne told Bret and I agreed to help out when you need me, considering that I haven't worked in a while and with these two and what they get up to, I need all the work I can do to support them." Mrs. Rollins said.

Addison started fretting with her hair, one of the many tics she had going on at the moment. Dean, thankfully, wasn't hogging space around her and Seth's mom was staying up on the porch. Addison just looked miserable.

"Hey, Mom, is there any trash runs we may need to do?" Seth asked, gesturing towards him and Dean.

"Uh, you know what, yeah. The kitchen trash and there are some fallen branches in the yard that need to go in the lawn debris trashcan. Think you two can handle that while I see to Grandma Betty?" Mrs. Rollins asked.

Seth motioned for Dean to follow and luckily he did.

Somehow, Bret, Addison, and Roman all ended up in the small house.

"Bret, are you the one that sent this strange woman in here?" Grandma Betty asked. "Why?"

"Addison needs to be a teenager, Betty," Bret said. "She needs to go out and do things, be with friends, like the good boys, you know Roman, Dean, and Seth. They're her friends. Seth's mom..."

"You're that good boy's mother? I didn't know. Okay." Grandma Betty reached for her coffee cup. "This woman can stay."

"That's another reason why I thought it was best for Mrs. Rollins to work here. Grandma Betty already knows Seth. The closer to the family it is, the better I think. How are your Plot Holes Patches coming along, Addison?"

She didn't answer, she walked to her bedroom.

"She's going for a time out," Bret said when Roman started after her. "She needs it after the changes."

"Why does she need so many routines?"

"It's her way of control, most people with autism have to have control of some things." They moved to the kitchen to be out of Grandma Betty's way of the television. "I know that I can't take care of Addison and her needs. This is a good school with a good education and a great IEP and Special Ed classes. I take care of their finances, that's all that needs to be done on my end and paying for at-home care for Betty."

Bret pulled his fingers through his blackish hair, though it had gone a little bit on the dull black with more gray involved. He wore a black leather jacket, similar to the one Dean liked to wear when it wasn't muggy.

"How is Dean's adoption coming?" Bret asked as he turned to look at Mrs. Rollins.

"Tough, his mother is back and wanting custody since getting out of prison."

"Really?" Roman asked. "He didn't mention any of that to me. Seth hasn't said anything either."

"Because they don't know. And you're not going to tell them." Mrs. Rollins outright glared at Roman. "I'm not sending Dean back to that woman, you can guarantee it, Roman. But I have to be the one to tell them. After I'm through here, I'll have a family meeting with them."

There were a lot of things that were going on in Dean's life that had been complicated. Dean was a foster kid, sure, but after what happened with his parents, his mom going to prison for something, and his dad skipping out and taking his twin sister with her own problems, Dean had been left high and dry in Iowa's foster care system thanks to a recent move he and his family had. That's the reason why he was in Seth's family, his Dad work with child services and transferred down to Florida a few years prior and that's how the three of them met.

It was just more complication upon more complications that Roman wanted nothing more to go into Addison's bedroom and show her just how much he cared about her. Yeah, only love stories and romcoms could make that look good. Not in this situation.

"I'm going to go check on Addison. I'll be back." Bret said before heading down the short hall and then into Addison's room.

Roman glanced down the hall, his hands hooking into his front pockets.

"You really like her, don't you, Roman?" Mrs. Rollins asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I really do."

"I just hope that Seth finally finds someone that he likes someday." Mrs. Rollins said.

Roman just hoped that Addison would finally accept that he liked her enough to do the things he said he would do with her.

* * *

**College life kept me from writing this story for you guys. I have about a month before I have to go back to school again and I really like writing this story. Again, sorry for the long absence. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Roman had left soon after her Uncle Bret had. Uncle Bret told Addison that he was needed out back in New York where his Production company was headquartered and that he would be in contact with Mrs. Rollins to make sure that Grandma Betty's care was coming along well enough.

But it was at school that seemed to be different.

For one, a lot of the kids were whispering from the moment she got on the bus and through the halls on the way to homeroom. She didn't see Seth, Dean or even Roman, she didn't see any of them, she did see plenty of Alexa and Carmella when they finally slunk into the classroom nearly late for the homeroom warning bell.

"Where are your group members, Addison?" Mr. Calderon asked.

Addison shrugged. "They, they...they didn't tell me if they..."

The class started to snicker, cackle more like it from Carmella and Alexa that was for sure. If her group weren't there it meant that she was going to lose out on participation points and she would probably get a bad grade. And her teacher was looking at her like she was to blame, maybe not but it felt like that at least. It really did look as if he was angry with her.

"Ms. Hart, do you have something to say?" Mr. Calderon asked, his voice dipping slightly.

The door opened. "Hey, sorry. We called ahead to the office." Seth said as he came in. "My car decided to have a midlife crisis halfway through the drive here."

Seth held out a slip, Dean side-stepped the teacher and went to sit down in his spot behind Addison. Roman slipped his backpack off his shoulder, dropped it on the floor and smiled at her as he sat next to her.

"Well, okay. As long as it was recorded. You're in the clear, Ms. Hart. But maybe you should get your group's numbers just so that you can tell me if something like this were to happen again." He turned away and went back to the whiteboard to start writing something down.

Presentations were going to be held two weeks from that day, meaning that everyone had to talk for five minutes about their topics.

What she did know about her topic was that children were often used as cheap labor back in the day of factories, even sawmills. Plus labor laws were dangerous back then, as a 1911 New York Factory fire had been the worst disaster in New York's history up until the September 11th attacks.

"You'll need a visual representation of every topic within your group." Mr. Calderon said and Addison took that down.

Addison took down notes of what was expected. She glanced at her side at Roman but he wasn't taking notes. He should have but it looked like he was sleeping, his head was resting on his hand. Mr. Calderon didn't seem to care, he just kept talking about stuff, more about what he wanted each person to talk about, or what it sounded like he wanted them to talk about.

By the end of class, Roman had woken up. She heard Dean thump Roman but when she looked at them, Roman thumped Dean back.

"No hitting in my class." Mr. Calderon said as he looked at the two in question.

"Yet you let wadded up paper balls get thrown at Addison?" Dean asked. "I thought this place was great for IEP and Special Ed kids. Guess not. Come on, Addy, let's get you to class."

She didn't try to look at her teacher, Addison hung her head and walked out the door with Roman, Seth, and Dean following.

"Do you really want to get a suspension or something?" Seth asked.

"Hey, I'm not on any team yet. Might as well ruffle a few feathers along the way." Dean hitched his strap up his shoulder. "So, let's get you to class."

"I can do that on my own, thank you." She started to turn away, only to end up in Roman's path.

"Sorry, Nani, I'm taking you myself. My class is next to you." Roman said.

"Well, you better not fall asleep in there if you want to actually learn anything." She told him before walking down the hall.

He followed. "I know. I was up late trying to do homework. I don't always have a lot of time after school to do any homework."

"You need to do something about that," Addison said.

"Yeah, I do. Think you can help me?"

"By doing your homework?" She stopped and looked at him. Only found him not even a foot from her so she had to crane her head up to look at him.

"No. I can do that on my own." He said.

She looked at his chin, not really sure where else to look at him. Addison turned away and started for the stairs, only to have Roman grab her hand. As she looked at him, he pulled her along, his hand still in hers.

They stayed like that, even though she tried to pull away once but he tugged her right back at his side.

He never stopped holding her hand either. Hand in hand, down the stairs, through the halls of their high school. Addison felt like her face was going to melt off, she wasn't sure why it would bother her that much when Roman's thumb rubbed the back of her knuckles. By the time they had gotten outside the Special Ed classroom, which was next door to his math class, Roman had her face him.

"I'll see you at lunch. I'll save you a seat, Nani."

"I..." she looked at their joined hands and sighed. "Okay."

He let her hand go and she turned to open the door. Roman stayed there for as long as it took for her to close the door on his face.

Her head lifted when she realized that for once she didn't mind the electrical tingles in her hand, across her skin or reacted the way she used to when Roman talked.

She was liking the feeling.

* * *

Roman found himself sitting at the table that he and the rest of The Shield usually sat at for lunch period. Renee was there, showing Seth and Dean something on her laptop. It was the main article she had been working on for the newspaper.

He turned around and looked at Addison as she was walking towards their table. Of course, he smiled. Why wouldn't he? Her blonde hair was falling in her face as she walked along a line on the floor.

But she stopped when Alexa got in her way.

Roman was on his feet. There was always one teacher in the cafeteria, at least there was supposed to be. He didn't see any around when Alexa became the Cheer Bitch of their high school.

The sound of Addison's tray hitting the floor caused the entire cafeteria to go silent.

"What the hell is your problem, Hart? Why did you just push me? Look what you did to my shirt."

"What's going on here?" The teacher, someone who Roman didn't know, asked approaching. Just some guy who was often around in the cafeteria.

"She shoved me." Alexa's shriek echoed off the walls. "And look at what happened, she got mac and cheese on my shirt. I have to find another shirt. I don't have a shirt."

"Addison, you know striking another person is wrong. Come on, we're going to the office."

Roman barely made it there when the teacher grabbed Addison's sleeve to guide her out of there. "Addison."

"This doesn't deal with you. Go back to your lunch." The teacher said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

She looked at him, Addison's lower lip was quivering. Her fear was there, there was no way she wasn't afraid.

"Kid, you need to move." The teacher said.

He and the teacher were about the same height, the guy was a toothpick with glasses that were being begged to be broken. Roman fisted his hands at his side.

"Fine, but you do know she doesn't like being touched. So why don't you let go of her sleeve and have her walk in front of you." Seth said as he came up to the small gathering.

The teacher tugged Addison, who nearly fell over.

"You f..." Roman took a step towards the teacher. The teacher stepped back.

"I'm okay, Roman." Addison pulled her arm away. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

She pushed by him, touching him rather than the teacher and walked briskly towards the cafeteria doorway. The teacher followed not before glaring at Roman, who gave him a send-off bird with a wave of his hand.

"What the hell is your problem, Bliss?" Dean asked the blonde chick.

"She hit me on purpose. I was just..."

"Bullshit," Roman looked down at her.

Alexa huffed. "She hits you all the time. Hitting isn't allowed..."

"Grabbing her arm and bruising her isn't hitting?"

Her eyes got big. "I didn't do that." She said.

"Come on," Seth said. "Let's go, guys. No sense talking to a bitch about nothing."

"Excuse you?" Alexa almost yelled.

"You heard me." He turned his shoulder and then headed out of the cafeteria.

She looked like a gulping fish. Now she knew who not to mess with. Dean, Seth, Renee, and Roman headed out of the still quiet cafeteria.

Down the hall, to the principle's office, they went. They never met the Principle of the high school, they did deal with the Super Intendant though, a Mr. Helmsley, or Mr. H as a lot of the other guys called him. The front desk lady looked at the three of them as they walked in.

"If this is about Addison Hart, she's talking to the Super Intendant at the moment." The woman looked at Seth mostly, considering Dean was bouncing slightly from the back of the Trio. "I know all about you three."

"In a good way, right?" Seth asked, his lips quirking a little.

"Dean, guys..." Renee came in. "Hi, I'm one of Addison Hart's friends."

"I'm sorry, but none of you are going in there. Not until Mr. Helmsley has talked to Addison." The receptionist said.

Renee held up her phone. "I have proof that Addison didn't do anything."

The woman held her hand out. "I will see about letting Mr. Helmsley know about it in due time."

"No," Renee jerked her hand back. "I will do it myself. Guess we have to wait for them to get out."

So they waited. None of them sat in the office chairs. It was only about five minutes later that Addison came out with Mr. H and the dumbass teacher.

"Do you have someone to come pick you up, Addison?" Mr. H asked in the calmest voices.

Addison shook her head as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Sir, Mr. Helmsley, I have proof that Addison didn't hit Bliss," Renee said, holding up her phone. "I got video evidence."

"I would like to see that, Ms. Young." Mr. H said.

She showed whatever was on the phone. Roman, though, walked up to Addison and looked down at the top of her head. She still refused to look at him, or anyone. Whatever was being shown on the video had Mr. H sigh at the end of it.

"That's not all. Show him your arm, Addison." Roman told her.

She slowly raised her sleeve and presented it to Mr. H. He made a grunting noise as he looked at the bruise that was now a darker blue-purple color on her arm.

"Go and get Bliss for me, Mr. Timpleton. Addison, do you want to go back to lunch with your friends?"

"Lunch period is almost over." The receptionist said, still giving a weird look to the group of kids.

"We'll get her something to eat at the Student Store," Roman said. "Come on, Nani. Let's go. I'll take you to your next class." He said.

"Addison," she mumbled but allowed for him to lead her out of the office. The others were in tow.

Renee had to get her phone from Mr. H after school but otherwise, nothing happened to Addison. Seth went back to the lunchroom to grab their bags and brought them out when Roman paid for a small prepackaged chicken sandwich and a diet orange soda.

Defeat. Addison had a constant head hanging posture, her shoulders hung and she didn't look at anyone even when she spoke to them. She stood outside her next class with Roman and the guys and Renee as they waited for her math teacher to show up.

"Want me to talk to her?" Renee asked Addison. "You know, let her know what's going on?"

Addison shrugged. She flicked the pull tab of the can as she stared at the floor of the hall. Some other students passed in the hall, looking at them. One look from Dean's demented gaze had them almost running off into a bay of lockers.

She was broken, Roman knew that much. His Nani was a broken soul and she could not stand life anymore in that school. Could he blame her? Could he blame her for all the unnecessary attention she had?

"My twin sister is autistic," Dean said.

Addison turned her head to look at Dean. Renee was even looking at him.

"I have no idea where my Dad took her but I knew she was autistic, I think that was one of the reasons why he left. Protect her from my wackjob mother." Dean said. "So, you're now my sister, Addison. If you have a problem, I want you to come to me."

Finally, she looked at him. Dean was on Roman's left, so Roman could fully see her red puffy face.

"Anything and everything that bothers you, I will be there. Just so you know, I wait around for these two idiots during their football practice. So any time you want to watch practice, I will be there for you. That way you're never alone when you go to root for your guy. We'll work up to going to games together though, right?"

She nodded. There was a quirk to her lip, but she nodded. If he could kiss her, he would, but just standing close to his Nani was enough to show her that he cared.

He hoped all the harassment would end for her.

* * *

**I wanted to get this out to you today because tomorrow I will be busy doing other stuff. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Addison glanced back at Roman as he sat down behind her in History class. The only reason she did was that he let his fingers drag over her arm as he walked by. When she looked back at Mr. Michaels he was engrossed in something at his desk at the front of the classroom.

"How are you doing, Nani?" He asked.

"Addison," she responded.

Roman laughed a little. "How are you doing?" He asked again.

She shrugged. Nothing happened after the group dropped her off in her classroom. Renee did tell the teacher what happened and so Addison didn't have to talk at all during class. She liked it, the silence of just doing some math homework.

"What's wrong with you today, Hart?" Mr. Michaels asked. She looked at him. "Can't you stay out of trouble or anything?"

She decided to stay quiet. Quiet meant she could focus, like on the recent topic for the classroom on the Civil War.

"You Harts are always starting trouble. Geez, if your Dad." But he stopped as more students started coming into the class. "Alright, everyone, take your seats. We have a pop quiz going on today."

A round of groans came from the various students still trying to get to their seats.

Addison looked down at her notebook she had been writing all of her notes in. She flipped it closed as Mr. Michaels started to hand out the slips of paper that had their Pop Quiz on it.

"Remember, this is only five points. Not a lot of you will need these extra points, not like you, Reigns." Mr. Michaels said as he handed him the paper. "Your coach isn't pleased. So try to do your best, okay?"

"Right, Mr. Michaels. I'll try." Roman said as his voice rumbled as he got ready for the pop quiz.

The Pop Quiz was easy to deal with, it was stuff she already knew. Addison was already finished with it by the time most of the class was finished with theirs. She sat with it turned over on her desk, she was thinking about a certain plot hole in her recent comic book she had that needed some working out and when the rest of the class, Roman included, finished they waited for Mr. Michaels to collect them. He always collected her last, even going to Roman to collect his quiz first.

Addison sat through the rest of the class with her head in her book as Mr. Michaels started going over the critical points in the chapter. She took her notes and highlighted what she thought would be important. She was thankful that Mr. Michaels never called on her to answer questions, even if she already knew the answers.

By the end of class, Addison decided to do something about what Dean told her earlier.

"Ready, Addison?" Roman asked as he stood up with his backpack over one shoulder.

"Can I call Mrs. Rollins and ask if it's okay to stay after school with Dean?" She asked.

"Sure. When we get outside, I'll let you use my phone." He smiled at her.

She bent down, picked up her backpack and then started for the door. Only Roman caught her hand, but he was the one to tug her out the door. Sure he was taller than her and it was a little hard to keep up with his longer strides but he bulldozed his way through the crowd of students trying to leave the school as well.

Outside, Roman pulled his phone from his back pocket. "Here, call Seth's mom."

She did. She was a little surprised that Mrs. Rollins said to take as much time as she wanted away from the house. Grandma Betty was fine and she didn't need to worry. Just come back after practice, that was the time limit. After she hung up, she held Roman's phone out to him.

"She said I had to come back after practice," Addison said.

"Well, we'll have you back by then. Come on, let's go find Dean. He'll be happy to sit with you."

"Will Renee be there, too?"

"Maybe, although I think she had to go home. So we'll see when we get there." He sounded less stressed if that was what she heard in his voice.

His thumb rubbed the back of her hand as the headed to the other side of the school to where the PE classes were held. The school only had one large auditorium where the school functions and assemblies happened. It was also where the football team met up before practice would happen out on the field, apparently. Though she had yet to actually see a practice, she knew this was a tradition at least with the track and field team.

Dean was already in the gym when they got there. He was sitting on the bleachers next to the basketball court and reading one of his textbooks.

"Hi, Dean." She said.

"Nani, I have to go," Roman said. She looked at him. "Think you can watch Dean while I'm in practice."

"Why do I need to be watched?" Dean asked.

"Out of the three of us, you're the one that needs constant attention. Plus you can fill Addison in on your basketball career."

Roman leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, his prickly facial hair scraped across her skin when he did that. Then he kissed the top of her head and smiled before he went to the guys' locker room where some of the other football team was already heading to.

"So, want to sit down?" Dean asked.

"Oh, sorry." She sat down next to him. "What happens in the gym?"

"The guys do laps in their gear as a warm-up before heading out to the field."

"When they get out to the field, what do they do?"

"Run practice plays." He glanced around her. "Stay close, the cheer team is coming through."

The team itself had never bothered Addison, only the two that had been in there, Alexa and Carmella. Only there was one this time, Carmella, who was trailing behind the rest of the girls that came into the gym.

"Hey, Dean. How are you doing, Addison?" Charlotte Flair asked.

Addison rubbed her arm through her sleeve and shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Just so you know, Bliss has been dropped from the Cheer Squad. I'll make sure Carmella leaves you alone, though."

"Okay."

She never really dealt with Charlotte, although as a blond, Charlotte had been nicer than Alexa, if meaning she never once spoke to Addison outright. Even if she was friends with Renee Young, Addison didn't know if she could trust the above-average height blond cheer captain.

Mr. Shaunessey would have the special needs students standing up on a balcony overlooking the rest of the auditorium during big assemblies. She used to spend a lot of time in that class until she decided she wanted to go into regular classes, for math and science at least, even the History subject that was one of her best subjects.

So sitting down on the bleachers when the majority of the football team came out where their gear was a little unsettling. For one, it made Roman look bigger than what he was usually. His shoulder-length wavy hair touched his shoulders and he smiled at her as he put his helmet in her lap.

"Hold that for me." He said and then jogged up to Coach Austin.

"Hold this for me," Seth said and handed his helmet to Dean.

"Screw you," Dean said and then dropped it on the bleacher next to him. "I ain't no waterboy."

"Looks like it to me." Seth laughed then jogged up to the group huddle.

"What's a waterboy?" Addison asked.

"Basically a butler for the football team. Wait until I get into basketball, Ads, I will whoop their asses on the court."

Dean said things all the time, so she just figured that he was just talking like someone who was always angry. He seemed to be angry all the time and so she let him watch the running.

The cheerleaders did their practice on the opposite side of the room. Mrs. McMahon, a Linda McMahon, was the cheer coach, and she had to stop practice to get the girls to pay attention. This was directed at Carmella because she would stop and glare at Addison.

Instead of worrying about the blond cheerleader, Addison went to open her backpack for her math textbook but the football team was now doing laps on the basketball court.

* * *

When Coach Austin called for the team to do their plays outside on the football team, Roman went back for his helmet. Addison stood up, her cheeks red as she held his helmet out to him. Sweat dripped off his nose as he looked down at her.

"Thanks, Nani."

"It's Addison." She said.

"When are you two going to kiss already?" Dean asked as he stood up with his backpack.

"Yeah?" Seth asked with his helmet in hand.

"I'll wait until Addison is ready. Come on, Nani, we're going outside. Dean will show you to the bleachers."

"Okay," she sounded small again.

He smiled and left with the rest of the football team.

The first game of the season was going to be that weekend and the team needed to work on their plays before taking on the town's other high school. With his cousins coming in after that, if they lost one game then they would be able to possibly pull out a season win that year before the college recruits came through.

With one lap lengthwise across the field, they huddled for a quick play guide before lining the defensive- his spot- with offensive- Seth's spot- to work a defensive play. They would alternate to an offensive play and then go back to defensive. Coach Austin really wanted to work on what West Wellspring High School was lacking on their end. Central High, their school, needed to be better than the other school and go All-State just to pick up where they lost to West Wellspring the year prior.

Another reason to move to this town. He just wasn't expecting to get the hots for the famous Addison Hart in the process.

After every play, Roman would take a moment to look over at where Addison was sitting on the bleachers with Dean. Towards the end of practice, though, something shifted after the offensive play while they were switching for the cool-down stretch to go home.

Some guy, early fifties maybe late forties, was talking to Dean. Dean's back was to the field. A blond chick was standing with this guy. Addison was still sitting as she watched what was happening next to her. He thumped Seth's shoulder pads and pointed as they got into formation.

"Who the hell is that?" Roman asked.

"Don't know. I can't tell what Dean is doing, though."

Dean stood with his arms crossed, that much Roman could tell.

"Are you guys going to stand there all day or would you like another lap?" Coach Austin asked.

"Sorry, Coach." They said and then got in their spots.

Once practice was over, Seth and Roman ran up to Dean and Addison. His Nani stood up when he approached her.

"What's going on, man?" Seth asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Dean, son, look. I know you may hate me but you have to understand that I did what was best for your sister." The man said.

"I'm not your son," Dean said, his voice low and growling. "What do you want? You left me, why would I want anything to do with you?"

Addison stepped even closer to Roman, her shoulder pressed into his side. The battle to keep a straight face happened when he looked over at the man and the girl. There was no doubt they were related, the girl was a smaller female version of Dean, from the sandy blonde hair, the same nose, and similar facial features. Dean was just this man's younger version.

"Because I don't want your mother to get either of you."

Addison looked around Seth, seeing as the girl was also peaking around the man as well.

"Should I go say hi to her?" Addison asked. "She looks scared."

"Not now, Nani." He whispered.

Quinn Ambrose shook his head. "Dean, I need you to understand, son…"

"The hell I'm your son," Dean said.

"Bubba?" The soft voice of the girl next to the man said. "Dad, is that Bubba?"

Dean shifted, his face slacking as he looked at her. Dean loomed over her, even if she was his twin, she was absolutely tiny compared to Dean's six-foot-four. The girl ducked back behind Quinn.

"We'll talk about this later, Dean. I just thought you should know from me before I approach your foster parents about getting you back. We've moved here…"

"Screw you." Dean reached down and picked up his backpack. "I ain't going anywhere with you."

He turned and left, heading back towards the school.

"Come on, Nani, let's go," Roman said. "I need to get out of my gear."

"Tell your parents that I'll be coming around, Seth." Quinn wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders. "We have things to talk about."

Was that a threat? Roman and Seth glanced at each other before they headed to the school. Addison held onto her stuff as he left her outside the guys' locker room.

There was still no Dean. Either on the outside of the locker room or in it.

"Should we go look for him before we leave?" Roman asked as he shoved his stuff into his duffel.

"Knowing Dean, he'll want to go and have some personal time. He hasn't seen his Dad and Juliana since he was like five." Seth jammed his helmet into his own duffel. "But if we can't find Dean we need to go take Addison home and tell my mom what's going on."

He decided that was the best option for everyone, especially since Addison needed to get straight home anyways.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this update. I need to figure out what happens next. Thanks for reading, everyone. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Addison opened the front door and walked into her front room with Roman and Seth. Grandma Betty was sitting in her chair, a TV dinner tray next to her as she watched her old western shows and Mrs. Rollins was in the kitchen doing some dishes.

"Hi, Grandma Betty," Seth said as he passed in front of her to get to the kitchen.

Addison went to put her things up. She greeted her grandmother as well, though the woman had a slight vacant appearance to her face. She had been losing something about herself, but she continued to drink her coffee and take her medication. Addison decided to wait to talk to Mrs. Rollins about it.

Dean was more important.

"Mom, someone came to Dean at practice today," Seth said as they made it into the kitchen. "He said that he'll be in contact with you and Dad about Dean."

The forks in Mrs. Rollins's hands clanked into the soapy water. "What? Who?"

"Quinn Ambrose."

Mrs. Rollins sighed and ducked her chin to her chest. "Did he have a girl with him?"

"Yep. She called Dean Bubba. What does that mean?" Addison asked.

"It's just another name for brother," Roman said.

Mrs. Rollins looked strange, Addison was pretty sure she didn't like whatever was going on with Dean and his dad. After what happened with her own parents and her Uncle Bret not being able to be around when she wanted him, Addison figured that whatever happened with Dean was something that she shouldn't have any business in.

But Dean said that he was her brother, that she should go to him if she needed anything. That didn't really make sense to Addison, but she figured it was his way of trying to be nice to her.

It was even more confusing when dealing with Roman. With Roman constantly trying to touch her and saying things about kissing, but she thought it was just that, words to say to her that had no meaning.

She left the kitchen to go put her things up in her bedroom. Humming a song, she found herself trying to put her notebooks and textbooks. Roman sat down on her bed with a thump.

"How are you doing, Nani?"

"Addison. Can you stop calling me that? That isn't my name." She found her red pens and put them next to her English homework.

"I call you Nani because beautiful doesn't describe just how wonderful you are." He sat forward on his knees. "Nani is your nickname. Like Addy-girl is your uncle's nickname for you. Come here." He held his hand out to her.

She looked at his hand and she turned back to her desk. Addison wanted to get ready and do some homework, homework that he was supposed to be doing.

Then there were arms around her, big arms that pulled her into a body. Flashes of memories she had long since had to deal with were there, she stiffened up and shook as a result of the feeling.

"What's wrong, Nani?" Roman said with his chin on top of her head, his hand rubbed her arm. "Tell me what's wrong, Addison."

"The man that did it, I couldn't see his face, he picked me up and dropped me. I don't...remember what happened next." She said. "I have to go to a therapist tomorrow to talk more about it."

He turned her around. Roman pushed some of her hair from her face and dipped his head down so that he was looking at her.

"Do you feel safe with me," he asked.

"Sometimes."

"What makes you uncomfortable? What do I do that you don't like?"

"Hugging from behind. I don't like that."

"What if I hug from the front like this?" He pulled her closer to him, he had trapped her hands between their bodies. "How's this?"

She shrugged. Even though her throat closed up, she still took shaky breaths through her nose.

"Did you hear about the homecoming dance that is coming up after this coming game?" Roman asked her.

"Yes. Why?"

"Did you want to go with me? As my date?" He tilted his head a little when he asked that.

"Why would I go? No one wants me there."

"I want you to go with me, like my girl."

His wording didn't make much sense. There was no way he would say that to her. But…

She ducked her head while trying to think. Her forehead rested against his shoulder, just over his pectoral area. He called her beautiful, he called her Nani and that meant he liked her. All the things he said, the stuff she always questioned him on, if those things were true then she must have been special to him.

"Nani?"

"I don't have a dress." She looked at him. "I'll have to ask Uncle Bret if I can go."

"So ask him. If it's about the money then I'm sure that he will let you buy on." Roman ran his index finger through a chunk of her hair. "I want to kiss you."

"Why?"

"I want to." His right thumb brushed over her cheek. "So you can fulfill a goal."

She took a step back only to knock into her desk. "How do you know that?"

"Well isn't it something you want?"

"Only if I have a boyfriend. You're not my boyfriend. You're just a friend. How did you know that stuff? How did you know I wanted that stuff?"

He smiled, probably because he thought it was funny she was freaking out. Addison felt sick over knowing that he saw something of hers that she had wanted to keep private.

"How did you know?"

"The first day that I came to school. You dropped your notebook, remember?" Roman continued to play with her hair. "I remember when we met that one summer on that movie set. Don't you?"

"No." She pushed his hand away only for him to catch her chin with his thumb and index finger, making her tilt her head to look at him. "Maybe a little."

"I thought you were cute back then."

"Why?"

He didn't answer, just leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. His hand rested on the back of her neck but his thumb rubbed her cheek. His other hand was holding her hip and rubbing it.

"I want to kiss you, Addison." He said, his breath hot against her mouth. "Can I please kiss you?"

* * *

Roman waited. He continued to rub her cheek, holding her as close as possible while he waited for her to answer. Addison's cherry-red face was priceless as she looked everywhere but him. She was still shaking up a storm but she had not tried to push him away.

"Please?" He asked again.

She started to form a word, her mouth moved to say but the door to her room opened. Addison jumped back, knocking into her desk and spilling several items over. The warmth of her body was felt in an instant.

"Seth," growled Roman. "What do you want?"

"Mom told me to get you and head on home. Remember we have to study for the math test. Mom doesn't want either you and myself falling behind. We still have to find Dean."

When he looked back at Addison, she had her back turned to the door, leaning down to pick up the fallen things. He heard her sniffing. He could see how red her face was and how wet her eyes were.

"Give me a minute," Roman said, shooting a daggered glare at Seth.

Seth raised his hands, turned and left. This gave Roman the perfect chance to do something about Addison.

"Nani, I mean Addison. Can you look at me please?"

When she shook her head he sighed. So he was going to give a kiss, not the one he wanted to but the one that would probably not scare her as much. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. It wasn't a small peck either, he let his mouth brush up against her temple before placing a kiss on top of her head.

"When you're ready to talk about this stuff, let me know. I'll be waiting, Nani."

For once she didn't try to correct him.

When he finally managed to pull himself away from her, Roman closed the door behind him so she could get some privacy to herself. He turned around only to see Seth leaning against a wall looking at him.

"What?" he asked.

Seth put his phone down. "Well, you sure aren't making it obvious."

"Give her a break, she wants to do it but she's freaking scared. I think she just doesn't know how to respond to what I want, she doesn't know what to do."

Seth blinked. "So do it when you're not pinning her against a desk. Take her out to the park, in a pretty place and curl her toes that way. Right now, we have to go. I finally got a hold of Dean. He's in the park."

"Did you tell your mom?"

"No. She's taking care of Grandma Betty. Come on, we'll pick up Dean on the way. I want to know something about his Dad and all that shit."

Mrs. Rollins was back to cleaning the dishes and Grandma Betty was still watching her television show when they left. They climbed in Seth's car and head back towards the area where the park was located. From the parking lot of the park, there was a play structure that had some kids on it and one set of swings where a very tall lanky blonde guy was sitting.

"Dean, man," Seth said once they had approached their friend. "What's going on?"

"Just thinking."

Roman leaned against the swing set. "About what? Quinn?"

"Juliana. This is one of the few things we ever did together. One of the tenant places in Cinci had a park nearby and I would go with her and we'd just sit on the swings for hours."

Seth sat on the swing next to Dean. "Why did your Dad take your sister and not you?"

Dean shrugged. "I've asked that before. I have no idea, well I have one but I don't know why he didn't take me as well."

Seth and Roman made eye contact. Roman knew some of the things that Dean's mother put him through. It was one of the things that made sense as to why he would be pissed off with his Dad. Having a sister you looked out for was one of the biggest things a family oriented person would want, Roman had that from his older brother when he had been alive.

"Mom said she will be waiting for Quinn to show up. She's still helping with Grandma Betty before heading home. That means you have to come back with me, man." Seth said.

"Don't feel like it."

"Of course you don't," Seth grumbled. "Look, man. You know my mom will send the police out for you, just like Pensacola."

"Man," Dean stood up. "Fine, whatever. I'll go. Just don't have your mom sending the dogs on my ass."

"Good, so you can be convinced to do something." Seth stood as well.

Dean grabbed his backpack and as they were walking back towards Seth's car someone was walking towards them.

"Juliana?" Dean stopped in his tracks, making both Seth and Roman stopping as well.

The blonde girl, smaller than Addison, looked up at Dean, glanced at Seth and Roman before looking at Dean again. She wore similar clothes that Addison did, but as a shorter girl, she still looked like she could pass as being a thirteen-year-old.

"Hi, Dean." She said as she shifted on her feet.

"Where's Quinn?"

"At the house. Over there." She pointed, on the other of a large field at the far end of the park where several row houses were.

"You need to go back to Quinn, Juliana." Dean tried to walk around her.

"I miss you, Dean. Can I go with you?" She asked.

"No. Just go."

"Please."

Roman cleared his throat. "You have to understand, Juliana. Dean is going through a lot right now."

"Dad doesn't want Mrs. Rollins to adopt Dean. But mom wants you, Dean."

Seth and Dean stared at her. Roman shook his head because he remembered that conversation with Mrs. Rollins about this topic. He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

"Can I live with you, Dean?" Juliana asked.

"No." He said.

"Why? Didn't you miss me? I missed you."

"You probably don't remember me," Dean said with fists clenched at his sides.

Her lower lip started quivering. In a matter of moments, she stomped away, all the while crying. She did start for the row houses on the other side of the park. She outright sobbed. She balled up her fists and started hitting her hip.

"Hey," Seth took off in a shot. "Hey, Juliana."

Roman glanced back at Dean and then headed over to help Seth. Seth had to actually stop the girl from hitting herself more. She tried shaking Seth off of her and turned to look up at him, something Addison had an issue with.

"I want my brother back. You can't have my Dean." She actually looked pissed off, as if all of this was Seth's fault. "He's my brother."

"Well, I'm his foster brother," Seth responded. "My parents love Dean a lot you know."

"But it isn't fair. Dad said we are going to get Dean back and be a family. But Mom…" She went to punch her hip again.

Seth grabbed it. "Look, we just found out today you guys are in town. Tomorrow is Saturday. You can come to practice and talk to him then. Okay? Figure something out. You can meet Roman's girlfriend. She's a lot like you."

"Okay." Juliana sniffed then wiped her eye. "When is practice so I can be there?"

"It's at ten but Addison works. We'll go visit her after practice." Roman clarified. "Do you like comics?"

She shrugged. "Marvel Thor is just modernized Norse God Thor. Norse God Thor is a redhead man."

"Yeah, she and Addison will get along just fine," Seth said.

Juliana looked around them, over at Dean, who was standing where they had left them. Why wasn't he trying to be the brother like he was with Juliana, though? Couldn't he just try to be somewhat of a decent person and understand what she was dealing with?

"No more of that self-harm stuff. I'll have to handcuff you to me if you start that up again." Seth said to Juliana.

She looked at him, her brows furrowed. Yep, totally something Dean would do.

Without saying anything else, she walked away without crying or hitting herself again. This meant the guys were able to go back to the car without having to stop her from doing that.

"You're an ass," Roman said to Dean when they got in the car.

"Screw you."

"No, he's right. You're an ass. That was your sister, man. Couldn't you have just, I don't know, been a little nicer?" Seth turned in the driver's seat to look over at him.

"I haven't had a sister since I was eight. Why should I worry about her now? She's being taken care of by Quinn."

"She wants you in her life. That's the least you can offer her." Roman asked.

Dean opted for silence as the answer. He crossed his arms, leaned his head against the passenger window and just stopped talking altogether.

Roman groaned and sat back, waiting for him to be dropped off and hopefully get some homework done before practice the next day.

* * *

**I hope you guys like that. I wonder what will happen next. Loving your comments.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Mr. Mitchell had asked Addison to reorganize the comic bins again. After the week, everything was already messed up again. Addison had been at it for about two hours when Roman, Seth, and Dean arrived. She heard Seth talking and went to go say hi but stopped.

There was a girl with them. She had a stuffed toy fox in her hands, well it was a Vulpix, a pokemon.

"This is Mr. Mitchell, he runs Must Love Comics," Seth said as if he was giving the girl a tour. Dean walked away, and the girl followed after him. "Hey…oh, hi, Addison," Seth said when seeing her.

She waved but watched the girl she had seen from the day before. What was her name, Juliana? Juliana Ambrose. Dean's sister.

Dean turned around and smiled. "Hey, Ads. How was work today?"

"Okay. Just organizing the bins. I'm down into the Ks now." She looked at the comic in her hands called Killbox. "Next is Ls. How was practice? Did the plays come out as Coach wants?"

"We're getting them down. We're showing Juliana the store." Seth said.

"Did your cousins arrive yet?" She asked Roman. There had been talking about his twin cousins coming to the school and being on the football team but they hadn't shown up yet.

"No, not yet. Their parents are trying to get the last of their things before fully moving here." Roman said.

Juliana looked at her. Addison raised a hand but the other girl was more interested in where Dean was going.

"I have to go. Have fun with your stay." Addison said and turned around.

"Have you talked to your uncle about going to the Homecoming Dance?" Roman asked as he followed her around to the other side of the store.

"He will be putting money on a card that Mrs. Rollins will give me for a dress. I have to go find one but I don't know where to look." She said with her back to him.

"Do you want to go dress shopping after work today?"

"Grandma Betty is sick. I told Mrs. Rollins that I would be back in time today."

Roman touched her back. She stiffened up and turned her shoulder to him. He came around so that he was standing in front of her.

"What's wrong with Grandma Betty?" He asked.

"She has a fever, not a high one. But she isn't feeling good. And I know what to do when she is sick like that. So I have to be home today."

She bit her lip as she looked at him. His hand was still on her back but Roman was now standing closer. Just like in her bedroom, when he tried to kiss her, Addison was pinned and had nowhere to go. Her back was to the bins and her front was to Roman.

"Addison, can I kiss you?" He asked.

"No, I have work to do." She pushed at him. "I don't want to get in trouble."

He sighed, "Yeah, you're right." He dropped his hands from her, letting her free. "It's kind of weird having two of you around."

"What do you mean two of me?" She asked as she went back to her bins.

"Well, Juliana is just like you. A lot like you, actually." Roman said. "Autistic, too."

"So? It comes in varying degrees. I don't carry around stuffed pokemon toys."

"See, at least you know what she has. Apparently, that stuffed toy was the last thing Dean gave Juliana before they were split up. Don't you have anything from your parents that you kept for memories?"

"There is one thing that I haven't taken out of a box. Just a stuffed bear that I had since I was a baby. You've seen my room, I don't have a lot of stuffed animals." She put a K titled comic in the K bin.

"And if I were to get you something special, will you keep it?"

"No one really gives me gifts, even Uncle Bret knows that I don't really like getting gifts."

"Okay, why don't you like getting gifts?"

"Because people get me wrong things. I want one thing or I like, say, Ninja Turtles and they get me something that is wrong with what I want. And I always say something wrong when the other person wants to be nice about the gift. So I don't like gifts unless it's money so that way I can get what I want and how I want it."

He tilted his head to look at her. Roman's face was a little scrunched up and she knew she hurt his feelings.

"See, I did it. I just did it. I made you upset. I'm sorry, but that is how I am." She turned back around. "I just make everyone upset."

"No, I was thinking of what I can get you. But you know what, I have an idea that we can do together so that way we can spend time with just the two of us."

She looked at him. "What? What do you have in mind? I need to know what you have in mind so I can be okay with it."

Roman smiled and stepped closer to her. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We'll have a jog in the park. Cross country run."

"You can run?"

"Ooh, that's a good one, Addison," they turned around and looked at Dean who had laughed. "She has a point. Your large ass can't run to save your life."

Juliana looked up at Dean as he continued to laugh at Roman's lack of speed. She looked confused. She hugged that stuffed toy closer to her chest.

Addison went over to the P bin and rooted around for something she had put in there earlier in the day. She found it and pulled it out.

"Here, this is cheap," Addison told Juliana and held the comic out to her. "If you like pokemon, you might like this comic."

Juliana took the comic and looked at it. "Pokemon comics?"

"Yeah, they have several series, like the cartoons. I don't watch or read them but children who play the Pokemon games love the comic series."

Juliana handed the comic back. "I don't have money on me, sorry."

"I can get it for you," Seth said.

Even Dean looked at the other member of The Shield. Seth was usually the one that was level headed, sort of led the group, and made decisions. Juliana hugged her toy tighter and then looked over at Dean. Addison glanced down at the comic and then at Roman.

"I tried to be nice. I don't know what to do." Addison said.

"Here, give it to me. I'm going to get it for her." Seth walked up. "Are there any others?"

Addison nodded and pointed to the P bin. "There are others in there. Maybe you let her choose, that way she can get what she wants."

"Go over there, Juliana," Dean told the girl.

She walked up to Seth and Addison at the P bins. Roman stayed back as Seth rooted around for more of the Pokemon comics.

* * *

Addison went back to work, but Roman and Dean watched Juliana and Seth look for more Pokemon comics. Addison continued her job over in some bins that weren't labeled P. She went back to the Ks and Dean watched Juliana and Seth.

"Well, it's better than I had anticipated," Roman said.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Your sister and Addison, they're sort of getting along."

"Yeah, I guess."

Roman sighed. "Look, Dean, whatever happens, Juliana is going to be around."

"I know. I just don't want to go back to Quinn."

There was that. There was still Dean's dad and the talk about his mother returning. After Juliana showed up at practice, the guy stuck around longer than anyone wanted. He had sat in a car as Dean and Juliana watched from the sidelines. No matter how stupid it looked that she carried that stuffed pokemon toy that Dean had apparently gotten her before he and his sister got separated, Juliana tried to be as close to her brother as possible.

"Has Mrs. Rollins said anything about this?"

"There was some paperwork going on, I guess. I didn't catch any of it. Any time I hear Quinn's name I block everything out. I want to punch him."

"I would, too, if I were me. But, look at it this way. At least you have your sister back."

Dean huffed and glared at Seth. Whatever the black-haired guy said, Juliana smiled at him. Roman caught Addison staring at the two as well.

"Grandma Betty is sick," Roman told Dean.

"What's wrong. Is she okay?"

"I don't know. Addison won't go out with me after work because of it. I'm thinking of hanging around her place for a while just to make sure she's okay."

"Who? Grandma Betty or Addison?"

"Both."

"Whatever you say, dude."

Mr. Mitchell called out for Addison. She dropped what she was doing and went to her boss. Roman heard the bell for the store ring as someone came in.

"Hi, welcome. Is there anything I can help you with?" Mitchell asked.

"Is there a girl with a pokemon toy in here? About this high?"

Roman leaned around the divider wall and saw who was standing in the store. It was Quinn Ambrose. He wore another suit. Much like Dean, the man was well built, imposing compared to how small Juliana was.

"Dean," Roman said and nodded his head.

Dean looked around the divider as well. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"He's looking for Juliana," Roman said out of the corner of his mouth.

Mitchell pointed to the area where they were standing and both guys stepped back around the barrier. The wall of comics could protect them for a little longer but Dean moved to the farthest side of the area, as close to Juliana and Seth as he could get.

"What's going on?" Addison asked as she walked up to him.

"Dean's and Juliana's dad is here."

"Oh."

Roman smiled to himself and took a chance, zipping in and placing a kiss to Addison's cheek. She jerked back and looked at him, her mouth open just a bit. Before she had a chance to say anything, he kissed her forehead.

"Stop that," she pushed him away, but he caught her hand. "Roman," she stomped her foot.

"Uh uh," he tugged her towards him. "I like doing that."

She stared at him as Quin walked into their area. Addison froze and seemed to work hard to not stare at the tall blond man in the nice suit.

"Juliana, we need to go," Quinn said.

Seth put his hand on her back and she looked back over at Dean. Dean shook his head and leaned against a shelf of figurines. It seemed like Dean and Quinn were sizing each other up. Juliana didn't even lookup.

"Julie, we need to go," Quinn said.

"I'm having fun with Dean and his friends." She leaned down into one of the boxes.

"Juliana, do as I say," Quinn grumbled.

"Why? Today I was supposed to hang out with Dean and his friends. The day isn't over yet."

"Just do as I say."

"Why can't she stay?" Addison asked. Roman looked down at her. "If she wants to be with Dean then…"

"Where is he?" Someone asked after they banged through the door fo the comic shop. "I saw him come in here. Where did that man go?"

"Juliana, come here." Dean grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her towards the back corner as Quinn ducked behind one of the side facing shelves. "Don't make a sound." He told his sister.

"Ma'am, you need to lower your voice or I am going to have to ask you to leave," Mitchell said.

"Addison, stay right here," Roman said, holding onto her shoulders.

"Roman, I'm scared." She said as the woman from the other side of the shop started to get closer.

"Shh." He said. "Pretend you're helping us."

Seth and Roman stood on either side of Addison as the woman barged into the area. Quinn was still behind the sideways shelf and Dean and Juliana were still hiding in the back corner. Roman glanced back at Mitchell as he had a phone pressed to his ear and the stringy-haired white blonde woman looked around. She was dressed okay, like a mother who thought skinny jeans and a cat shirt was a good thing to wear to a comic book store.

"I saw him come in here. I know he did. Where is he?" The woman looked around.

Roman and Seth shared a look and then watched the woman literally walk in circles. She raged and complained about the man she had wanted to find but if she just went a further into the second half of the store she could have easily found him. Not that Roman wanted Dean to be found, considering what seemed to be poking out of the woman's handbag.

No more than five minutes of standing around and watching this woman rage about seeing the man coming into the store, the police arrived. She was taken to the other side of the shop where she proceeded to scream and yell about how she just wanted to talk to her husband and how he had taken her daughter away.

"I'm very sorry about this," Quinn said as he walked out from his hiding spot.

Seth walked up to Juliana and Dean, Juliana was then holding onto Dean's arm and her stuffed pokemon toy.

"Juliana, you're okay," Seth said. "Dude, was that your mom?"

"Yeah, it was. How did she find you, Quinn?" Dean looked at the man who was handing the cop a card.

"I'm talking to the police, Dean." The man responded. "She's lost all her parental rights to my daughter Juliana, Officer."

Dean grunted and pulled his arm out of Juliana's grasp. "I'm nothing now?"

"You're someone," Addison said. "She's scary."

"I don't like her," Juliana added.

"I need to call my parents. They'll want to know what's up." Seth said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Dean," Julana looked up at him. "Can I stay with you? Please?"

"No."

Juliana's lower lip started to quiver.

Addison looked at her and then at Roman. She was just as lost as he felt. Roman took Addison's hand and kissed her palm.

"Everything will be alright, Nani." He said.

At least she didn't correct him on it.

* * *

**I wanted to get this out to you guys. I want to finish it but I don't really know what to do next. **


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